With more hooks than a pair of really big curtains, LightGuides take a mountain of smart little ideas, riffs and rhythms at a time, and pack them together like Tetris bricks into intricate, intelligent little pop songs.
Their playful charm makes modesty of their clever, carefully planned guitar hooks that run in parallel, dodging in and out of each other while the drums pull shapes.
Mark Cowan (lead vocals/guitar), brother Dave Cowan (drums/vocals) and childhood friend Martin Murray (guitar) cite American influences like Jimmy Eat World, Alexisonfire, Brand New, and The Get Up Kids. Their sugar-coated pop sensibilities, though, make no secret of their appreciation for Blink 182, Paramore and a whole glorious era of pop-punk in between.
The Scottish accents make no secret of their Glasgow roots, where they are already well-loved and well-respected in the country's strongest scene. A couple of self-funded EPs and a split single have complemented a gigography that already spans every corner of Scotland, includes high profile support slots in some of Glasgow's favourite venues, Scotland's biggest music festival and a couple of jaunts to the Big Smoke.
They've supported Frightened Rabbit, Twin Atlantic, The Rocket Summer, Silverstein and The Xcerts, played T in the Park, headlined King Tut's Wah Wah Hut and played a Detour Kidnap at the Anglo-Scottish border in the snow.
LightGuides have just finished recording their debut album with Chris Gordon (Union of Knives) and will be unleashing it through Alcopop! Records this summer.
“Intricate, intelligent little pop songs”
The Skinny
“Tricky time signatures, loud-quiet-loud dynamics and vocals that sound like they're being bellowed from a mountain-top”
News Of The World
“Memorable hooks, angular guitar pop and energetic”
Under The Radar, The Scotsman
“Packed with inventive guitar playing, emotive vocal yearning and enough musical flair to suggest they have plenty more great songs to come.”
STV
