WITH the Edinburgh music scene enjoying a particularly purple patch of late, things are about to get a whole lot better for the Capital's music fans.
Electric Circus – a new, live music premise perched slap bang in the heart of the city – is open
for business, and the welcome arrival of this ornate locale provided a comfy setting for two of Edinburgh's fast-rising stars at the Market Street venue last night.
The Electric Circus is also one of the only places where you can watch a band from the comforts of a chaise longue which, in the case of support act, Carrie MacDonald, is just the required seating to enjoy the singer-songwriter's dulcet tones.
Dressed for comfort, last year's Radio Forth One To Watch winner can certainly knock out a tune, and she has the raspy voice to see it through.
Her diva-like delivery (think Christina Aguilera) is a notable facet, too, and with song themes related to matters of the heart (ex-boyfriends, perhaps), she belts them out on her acoustic guitar as if reliving a painful memory.
It's this edginess that makes MacDonald watchable and while one or two people were more interested in yapping than listening, a few years from now the 21-year-old could either be selling records by the crate, or frequenting the coffee houses her music seems so comfortingly suited towards. Watch this space.
Chutes, meanwhile, have cemented their status as one of Edinburgh's best bands in the last year or so.
Having supported Idlewild at the Picture House last year, the recent change of mood in the quintet's songwriting hasn't reduced their appeal any; the disco-infused charge of their usual indie leanings giving way to the more lazy strum of alt-country. And it works, too, for the most part.
Adopting the acoustic approach, the band's strength lies in their three-part vocal harmonies: close your eyes and it could be a Scottish-sounding Beach Boys up there, the band's vocal sound more akin to The Proclaimers than The Kingston Trio.
Lead singer, Daniel James Abercrombie, leads the way and the stripey-topped vocalist experienced a rather awkward moment when he forgot the lyrics to an otherwise charming version of Simon And Garfunkel's The Only Living Boy In New York. Other bands may have stopped their song short or shirked with embarrassment, but as is the group's laid-back approach these days, Chutes merely discarded this minor blip with a simple smile and shrug of the shoulders. It was a relaxing Sunday evening after all.
The Edinburgh band's new songs, however, suggest they might fare better in the music industry should they permanently ditch the electric guitars in favour of the acoustic variety.
With so many widescreen choruses resounding throughout, it seemed rather apt that images of country roads and wide open spaces should beam from the many large TV screens deployed behind them at the back of the stage.
As circus acts go, you could say Chutes are destined for the Big Top. Here's hoping.
