The intimate, very intimate, confines of this Sauchiehall Street basement bares witness to the launch of the second album – Beyond the Silver Sea – by astral loons Dr Cosmo’s: having reviewed the record some weeks back, the penguin enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo would have seemed more appropriate but needs must; surrealism must exist underground tonight.
Negotiating a thoroughly skittish chap at the upstairs bar I descend to the pop pit below and get juiced up before the main event.
Duglas T Stewart – of BMX Bandit etc variety – is present and correct delivering a lounge singer mini-set: the sound isn’t really ideal to pick out the compressed nature of the backing tracks, but being joined on stage by a co-vocalist who before singing delivers an anecdote about being attacked by a rogue fox earlier that day is entertaining enough.
Not that I’m advocating zoological assault as a way of entertaining your punters but worth considering if you’re a new band looking for an angle: there’s some rats in the Kelvingrove that’ll take your leg off if you’re pushed.
Six-piece Big Hogg deliver a quick but attractive blast of psychedelia in a true West Coast style and we’re on to the headline.
And…this is where I encounter my skittish friend again.
Now, if I’d been handed his job description for the night, I’d have been nervously downing pints at the bar as well: actually I wouldn’t; I’d have been off out the door pronto.
Still, this is wacky stuff and as such having our lab coat wearing friend – they are all clad thus, to be fair – running around the crowd waving books, wearing face masks, chucking paper plates at the audience and generally larging it nose to nose with the punters…well, it makes sense I guess.
There’s a penguin at one point as well… and a lobster – this really would fit into the zoo very easily.
It all seems a bit of a distraction – the fact the band on stage are dressed like a hybrid of Timmy Mallet and a golfing scientist – or, in the words of the drummer’s dad, “you look like fucking Elton John” – is visual stimulus enough: the zaniness of the animal shenanigans doesn’t add a great deal.
All that said, the music is excellent.
The album is groove heavy and psychedelic, but with a lightness of touch and Monkees type vibe and so they are tonight: gossamer pop but then they really let fly into funky wig outs in the end: one track comes over like a compressed version of the end section of ‘I Am The Resurrection’ by the Roses – a good thing.
And oddly the sound system comes to life and with more battering clarity when they get going: far more listenable than the fogginess earlier.
They are a singular endeavour and hugely enjoyable: danceable, witty, good musicians, talented yet not po-faced…just drop the superfluous keraziness, lads; no need.
Words: Andrew Morrison
Photos: Michael Gallacher
