Tonight marks the start of FAT GOTH‘s UK Tour. For three guys working full-time jobs it ain’t easy getting time off. You know how it is. So if you live in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff, Brighton, London, Nottingham, or Dundee and bands like The Jesus Lizard or Melvins give you a boner, then you’ll be glad you made the effort to see FAT GOTH. Who knows when they’ll be near you again!?!
When FAT GOTH decided to self-release their latest album ‘STUD’ in January 2013, they would never have imagined getting much attention for it. After all, their hometown of Dundee has produced brilliant, non-commercial bands so far under the radar that few have noticed. And before ‘STUD’, if I’d namechecked FAT GOTH as one of Scotland’s best bands, many might have scoffed at the notion.
DUNDEE ROCK CITY
Over ten years ago FAT GOTH bassist Kevin Black’s previous band, Laeto, set the standard for everyone else in the scene. Having supported bands like FUGAZI and AT THE DRIVE-IN, it’s safe to say they were a massive influence on everyone else getting their shit together. From indie-pop bands like The Hazey Janes to hardcore experimental metal like Kaddish, everyone wanted to be that good at playing their instruments and connecting with their ideas and creativity.
It’s a shitty term to use but if “local” bands in Dundee have a goal, for most it’s simply to be as insanely great live as possible, and have fun doing it.
Getting the music to more people is incredibly difficult because there isn’t a Chemikal Underground label that the Scottish media can easily latch onto, and besides everyone either has jobs or is still a student. No-one has time to tour or the means to do it. So even when drummer Mark Keiller figured it would do no harm to have a self-funded small press campaign for ‘STUD’ through Badge of Friendship, they didn’t really expect much…
“You’ll be none the wiser by the end of it all, but much richer for stumbling into Fat Goth’s odd little universe” (KKKK -Kerrang)
“Fat Goth are undoubtedly Scotland’s great new rock band” Rick Fulton (The Daily Record)
“This is visceral, intelligent, misanthropic, no-holds-barred rock music” (Vic Galloway, BBC Radio Scotland)
“STUD is profoundly uneasy listening at its best, and weirdo freaks everywhere should love it.” (8/10 Rock Sound Magazine)
“Injecting a bit of danger back into UK rock music” (4/5 Artrocker)
If the reviews weren’t impressive enough by themselves, Kerrang! gave FAT GOTH – an unsigned band from Dundee – A FULL PAGE ‘INTRODUCING’ ARTICLE. The following week Kerrang! featured them in their Pandora cartoon.
To say this is all rather unexpected would be the understatement of the century. Things like this simply don’t happen to obscure bands from Dundee. Except this time, things are looking pretty good for fans of rock music.
Whether this is an unique one-off or part of a growing trend of Scottish indie music getting more recognition nationally, is still hard to tell.
For now, the positive reviews have enabled a tour to happen. Get yourself along to one of these FAT GOTH shows and support a rare example of a band venturing out of Scotland without the approval of who you know.
FAT GOTH UK TOUR DATES IN APRIL/MAY 2013:
Sat April 27th – Glasgow Bar Bloc
Sun April 28th – Leeds The Fox & Newt
Mon April 29th – Manchester Wahlbar
Tue April 30th – Cardiff Undertone
Wed May 1st – Brighton Latest Music Bar
Thu May 2nd – London The Black Heart
Fri May 3rd – Nottingham The Maze
Sat May 4th – Dundee 20 Rocks Dundee
