Public Servant Lifestyle

A veritable plethora of Caledonian alternative musicians form a supergroup that's almost entirely unlike The Travelling Wilbury's...

All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear? by The Reindeer Section

Barely a year ago Gary Lightbody - front man and principal songwriter with Irish bred/Glasgow based three-piece Snow Patrol, they of 100 Things You Should Have Done In Bed fame - rounded up twenty-one of Glasgow’s finest musicians from the audience at a local gig.

In a flash of inspiration, the Reindeer Section was born. One day’s songwriting, and a week in the studio later, the album All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear? was completed and released in August on Belfast’s Bright Star Recordings label.

Eight months on, and with another set of songs suitable for the Reindeer Section treatment burning a hole in Gary’s songbook,(alongside an albums worth of new Snow Patrol material) it was time to pick up the phone and see who was around.

Swollen

Over two weeks in February this year the Reindeer Section, with its ranks now swollen to a near platoon of twenty-seven, recorded the follow-up to All Get Scared... with Gary pooling a core band of Snow Patrol associate Jonny Quinn, Astrid’s Neil Payne, Charlie Clarke, Willy Campbell and Gareth Russell and Eva’s Jenny Reeve

The individual talents of the following added to the magic: Mark McLelland (Snow Patrol) John Cummings (Mogwai), Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines, Captain America), Lee Gorton, Sam Morris & Ben Dumville (Alfie), Aidan Moffat, Malcolm Middleton & Colin MacPherson (Arab Strap), Sarah Roberts (Eva), Roddy Woomble (Idlewild), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Richard Colburn, Mick Cooke & Bob Kildea (all of Belle & Sebastian), Iain Archer (Cadet) and Stacey Sievewright, Paul Fox and Marcus Mackay.

The quality of the song-writing is undeniable, with Gary fronting eight and guest vocalists taking the lead on 4 other tracks: Lee Gorton, Aiden Moffat, Roddy Woomble, and a duet between Jenny Reeve and Eugene Kelly.

Vocalists

Budapest is a song for anyone who has ever had their heart broken. You squeeze my hand, and I know it’s true, (not to be listened to under the influence of alcohol as may cause dampness of the eyes and involuntary loss of speech). You Are My Joy on the other hand is a big love-in of an anthem, unapologetically uplifting with the biggest chorus this side of the pop frontline. Reindeer Section declare war on rehashed formula pop!

1. Will You Please Be There For Me
2. The Opening Taste
3. 12 Hours It Takes Sometimes
4. Deviance
5. If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet
6. Fire Bell
7. If Everything Fell Quiet
8. I've Never Understood
9. Raindrop
10. Sting
11. Billed As Single
12. Tout Le Monde
13. Nytol
14. The Day We All Died

To date, this ramshackle ensemble known as the Reindeer Section have only played a handful of dates, partly due to the size of the touring party and the availability of those involved. Gigs of note: a trip over to Belgium, the Songwriters Festival at Royal Festival Hall in London and T In The Park.

The Reindeer Section 2002 line-up will play for the first time to launch the first night of goNorth (a week long event showcasing talent from Scotland and beyond) in Aberdeen this May. Future dates are being planned for a more compact line-up.

All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear? by The Reindeer Section is out now.