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Baby Strange is the title of a track from T-Rex’s 1972 album The Slider, But now also the name of a three-piece from Glasgow who don’t sound Bolan-esque at all. They’re much more in the vein – pun intended – of those bands who have tended to peddle the idea that they are in touch with rock’s dark, druggy side. Bands who push a nihilistic sensibility and a black aesthetic. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would be an obvious precedent for these young Scottish gentleman
They’re punk with a dash of grunge and their songs veer between drones and dirges. They wear their art on their sleeve, with their ideas and their worldview made pretty plain. And so just in case you were wondering where they were coming from, their new single is called “Pure Evil” and they’ve got another called Mess. Closer inspection reveals their dark vision is a little unfocused. Pure Evil finds the singer complaining that he is “tired of my generation” . When asked about the song, the singer does indeed admit, “I’m just not very happy with the way things are around me”, and yet he says of the video, “We’re all huge fans of electronic music and we love everything that comes with it.” Bit confusing, that. Same goes for their track Mess. “You people make me sick,” he rails, but it’s unclear which people he’s referring to, and whose side Baby Strange are on. Musically, they’re on the side of good old-fashioned rebel rock, only we don’t know what they’re rebelling against or about. In a way, they’re like a Clash with all the ideology and invective sucked out. They’ve been touring with Palma Violets, another band who some consider to be utterly predictable while others are enjoying presumably as a handy primer on a certain strand of alternative music.
The Fat Angel Sings 