Sting once described being an Englishman in New York as feeling like a ‘legal alien’, which, as a West Coast boy living in Edinburgh, I find myself easily identifying with.
This made Mark Hex‘s EP, People Hate Glasgow, stand out for me as the disdain for Scotland’s biggest city can generally be felt in all other corners of the country, except (or sometimes especially) by those who have lived there or know it well.
Mark Hex may now ply his trade in London, but his re-release of songs from 2004-2006 (This is Glasgow) is as quintessentially Glasgow as eight cans of Tennent’s en route to The Barrowlands.
Anthemic opener ‘This is Glasgow’ has the feel of a homemade 80’s punk record, which would be likely to have the crowd pogo-ing and belting the chorus out.
The bouncing guitar and repetition of ‘This is Glasgow’ create a thumping chorus, which gives the image of a rammy on Sauchiehall Street.
Lyrics like “do you think it’s really cool to pretend you go to the art school?” encapsulate the dark humour found only on the West end of the M8.
‘Sorry (For Nothing)’ has a refreshingly simple, home made feel to it when a lot of other artists try to be more and more polished, as the title suggests, Hex is totally unapologetic about this.
The frantic tone of the song creates an image of running around the streets young and dumb, causing trouble.
The EP sees a slight change of tone on ‘A Happy Death’, from the outset, this seems like another guitar heavy riot song, but as the track goes on things slow down a little and dreamy synth and keyboards arrive as Hex repeats the line “I’m waiting for a happy death, I’m hoping for a happy death” showing a different side to Hex and a welcome shift of pace.
The vulnerability shown on ‘A Happy Death’ continues on the next two tracks, ‘What’s the Score’ and ‘Brutal Ballet’, with the latter telling the story of a teen trying to find his way in the world.
Musically, ‘Brutal Ballet’ is the standout, a couple of layers of 80’s sounding guitar followed by Hex’s customary heavier, pounding chords towards the end, coupled with a well crafted emotional narrative makes for an excellent listen.
People Hate Glasgow is a good EP, especially as the songs have stood the test of time; remember it is a retrospective from over 10 years ago! People may hate Glasgow, but it’s hard to hate Mark Hex.
People Hate Glasgow by Mark Hex
Words: Steven Aitken
