Albums

Sucioperro - Random Acts Of Intimacy

Liam McGrady 19/06/2006

Rating: 4/5

… A few lads from a small town on the West coast of Scotland find that they share an affinity for rock 'n' roll. They decide to form a band. Fans of RATM, ATD-I and other bands using an acronym to shorten their names, they find it hard to win over the people of the town with their ultra tuneful, Alt Rock/Emo sound - people who are suspicious of any band not plodding through covers of T-Rex or Led Zeppelin while they smoke and drink themselves to death in grim looking public houses. Tired of seeing every new indie/rock night fade away to be replaced by cabaret acts and “all the meat you can eat for 5” deals at the venues around town, the boys retreat into their own little world. They become The Dragon, The Farmer, The Welshman and Big Slice, they find kindred spirits in fellow Scots Biffy Clyro and start to believe that their music does matter, that people will love it; that the doubters can choke on their overcooked steaks and keep their Marc Bolan impersonators. So it's 2002 and the band, now named Sucioperro (“dirty dog” in Spanish or “dirty bitch” in some other languages), record their debut EP 'Why Bliss Destroy'; the 200 copies sell out straight away. So okay 200 copies isn't a lot, but this is the West coast of Scotland remember. Tantalisingly close to the big city (Glasgow) it may be, yet the population is still sufficiently parochial and close minded on the whole. But the band have reached 200 people, that's 200 people who give a shit about good music, 200 people who want and need blazing guitars and anthemic tunes to drag them above the constant drizzle and constant calls to “get your hair cut you fucking hippy” from gangs of lads sporting tracksuits and Rockports - and probably from their parents. Two years of solid gigging both in the town and the big city follow, building a fan base, embellishing their world and dragging many others into it. The time comes to record again. This time it's 'The Hidden Perils Of Dancing EP', 1000 copies of which find their way onto the stereo's of Scotland's music loving youth, keeping their craving for intense, powerful and fucking thrilling guitar rock satisfied; until now. Some time before you're reading this, the Captains Of Industry record label spotted that Scottish music isn't all about poncing about in tight trousers singing about how much better it is in the matinee, and gave Sucioperro the backing to create their debut album…

… And so they ventured into the studio flushed with nerves and excitement, and crucially the confidence that they've got some fucking amazing songs. The years of striving against blinkered small town opinions transfer to the scathing 'The Crushing Of The Little People' (“lock us in the background, our big ambitions smothered and incited/We won't forget this”), all crunching guitar riffs and soaring vocals ending with the pay off of “Fuck you - don't dare - think - I'll - take - your - shit again!” Even better is 'Grace And Out Of Me', vocalist The Dragon claiming “I can twist the fabric of time/It's like real magic”, the band creating a chorus so forceful, driven, melancholic, joyous and effervescent that he probably doesn't doubt that he can; and then a pummelling breakdown of distortion that nearly does. Elsewhere, on new single 'Dialog On The 2' The 'Sooch (as they've now come to be known) marry a disco beat to frantic punky guitars, like DFA 1979 streamlined and taut; shed of the excess noise, and 'I Don't Hate It, I Accept It' sends vibrations through the floor no matter what volume it's played at.

Away from the heavier guitar assaults they craft the lilting, mid paced title track and delicate finger picked 'Apathy = Inaction' adding both depth and a bit of respite to a record that's seriously choc full of fist clenching anthems. Coming out blinking into the light after days spent slaving away in studio they hold in their hands 'Random Acts Of Intimacy'. One playback is enough to convince the lads once known as JP Reid, Michael Loog, David Aird and Fergus Munro that this is the record they've always dreamed about making…

… Several playbacks of this record have me convinced that the above events must have been how it all happened.