British indie enthusiasts of the late 90's may remember melodic Scottish quartet Astrid. I am no exception, in fact after hearing their charming single 'Distance' on Radio 1's The Evening Session
in 1998, I developed quite a fondness for the four piece from the Isle
Of Lewis. With a sound recalling the jangly guitar pop of Teenage Fanclub, the 60's flavours of The Byrds, and the melodic alt rock sounds of bands like Sugar, the brilliant Astrid were formed in Glasgow during the mid 90s. Willie Campbell, Charlie Clark and bassist Gareth Russell had all moved there from the Isle Of Lewis. They met drummer Gary Thom in 1997 and were soon discovered by Scottish indie heroes Belle And Sebastian, who invited them on tour as support act. They signed to the independent label Fantastic Plastic Records before releasing their debut EP 'No Reason' in early 1998.
I spoke to Charlie Clark, who remembers the band's early days. "We recorded 'No Reason' with Duncan Cameron at Riverside studios in Glasgow. It did really well on radio and got some national play, which ended up making the gigs a little bit bigger. There was an EP that Duncan had recorded by Teenage Fanclub called 'Teenage Fanclub Have Lost It', which was a favourite of ours. So it was a big deal to us to record our first single with Duncan."
They released more great singles and EPs before releasing the Edwyn Collins-produced debut album 'Strange Weather Lately' and its follow up 'Play Dead'. They also released a third and final album in 2004 called 'One In Four' before splitting soon after. Gareth Russell played bass for Idlewild, as well as releasing some great solo material, Charlie Clark played with The Zephyrs and went on to form Broken Arrow, Cold Night Song and Our Lunar Activities. William Campbell formed Our Small Capital and The Open Day Rotation.
But now Astrid are back with a new album titled 'Fall Stand Dance', which will be released via Edwyn Collins' AED Records on April 12th. RW/FF spoke to Charlie Clark a couple of years ago about Astrid as well as his solo projects in an interview that you can find HERE.
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