Holy Mountain – Earth Measures

A welcome addition to Scotland's heavy rock landscape, Earth Measures' six tracks begin as short, snappy and barbed stabs at punk rock, before evolving into longer, sprawling and increasingly psychedelic journeys. By the midway point, somewhere in the thick of fan favourite Swifty Fuckwit, the mood completely transforms into fuzz-faced bass-heavy ecstasy. The album's doomy closer, Silent Hawk, arrives like the crowning soundtrack to an inebriated night in a sweaty dive.

Significantly, the core duo of McGlone and Flett (now a three-piece, with the inclusion of Desalvo and Idlewild's Allan Stewart on bass) were among the first creative forces in Glasgow's accidental 'noize' scene of recent years (a non-exhaustive list encompassing such varied and confrontational bands as Divorce, United Fruit and Hey Enemy). Yet recordings from Holy Mountain surface infrequently (thus far they've released one tour EP in the last three years). A hazardous guess would be that it's difficult to neatly harness their on stage adrenaline, but Earth Measures makes a sterling attempt. Crank it to full bore.