It is one of those questions that I keep asking myself. Are there genuinely interesting rock bands in Glasgow? Well, Seminole turn out to be just that. Not content to revisit the past glories of their influences and hide such intentions with sheer volume as so many of their contemporaries do, this band take the alternative route and mix melody and imagination with a distinctly non standard approach – they work hard for the money!
Hearing songs that are fully worked out is more unusual than you might think (or hope for) but that is the very quality that is most evident about the songs on this release. Even in the conventionality of the grunged up rock that drives “A Wonderful Wonderful Hernia”, there is an underlying sense of purpose that provides that essential drive and focus to launch the song into your memory. Even though the deadly seriousness of Seminole’s commitment to their music is evident throughout, the almost camp – to the point of Rocky Horror Picture Show comparisons - “Die Calvin Die” illustrates that you can squeeze humour out of music in this normally pompous genre. Further evidence of this band’s willingness to smile whilst straying into invention comes with the melodic, drifting sixties style “Time To Expire”.
Bands like Seminole (along with A Joker’s Rage, Less Than Sober and The Carnivores) provide proof that there is life in Scottish rock music. Not only life, but also the imagination and commitment to create music that stands out from the crowd. Nice one!