Cuddly Shark encapsulate a purist “plug in and play” ethos with a touch of ice cold rock’n’roll. Idiosyncratic lyricism and odd anti-melodies combine with foot down, pedal-to-the-metal performances.
Born and bred in the bonnie Highlands of Scotland, the band consists of Colin Reid on guitar and vocals, Jason Sinclair on drums and Ruth Forsyth on bass guitar and vocals.
In 2007 the band found themselves magnetically drawn to the rain-soaked musical hotspot that is Glasgow to hone their sound. In 2009 their eponymous debut album was met with a host of acclaim from the likes of Artrocker, BBC Radio 1 (Vic Galloway’s ‘Album of the Month’), and even celebrity endorsement from Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting, Grey’s Anatomy).
Following on from October’s ‘Body Mass Index EP’, the band's second album ‘The Road To Ugly’ brims with punk attitude and spills over with melodic brilliance.
From the opening salvo of ‘SPMG’ and ‘Overpriced’, complete with headlong thrashy guitars, low slung bass and shouty vocals shot through with pugnacious humour, Cuddly Shark reaffirm that they will never have an ounce of pretentious hip- fat on them.
‘Broken Arm’ is rock solid and swaggeringly cool; the band prove they have more hooks than a tackle-box with recent single, ‘Body Mass Index’ and the hillbilly punk of ‘Doodlebug’. Then there’s the Pixies-like donkey kick of ‘My iPod Made Me Do It’, and the feverish growler ‘Pull The Finger Out’, which is anarchic and free spirited.
In the sweet half hour experience that is ‘The Road To Ugly’, the band also serenade us with string-laden Celtic clatter (‘Fiddley Dee’), European-folky flair (‘The Devil In You’), falsetto-pop (‘Trigger Happy’), and country-tinged stompin’ (‘Out of Sight, Out Of Mind’). The Shark bring proceedings to a close with the heart-on-sleeve balladry of ‘Local Hero’.
Effortlessly cool, chock-full of deadpan lyrical quips, manic shrieking, offbeat chug-a-lug riffing, melodic oomph and much more, The Road To Ugly is a stupendous journey and definitely worth the trip, time and time again.
“Remember fun?” The Line Of Best Fit
"…they're going to kick you in the mind and you’re going to say thank you sir, can I have another!?" STV
"…will induce all sorts of compulsive body movements on the dance-floor. The Year of The Shark!” Artrocker
Cuddly Shark's music is released by Armellodie Records. Please take the time to check them out. They're good people.
(c)&(p) 2012 Cuddly Shark.
Super duper labels wee tons o cool music to get your hands on. Come by the Armellodie stall and say hi to label chieftain Scott Maple and our very own Colin Reid who will also be performing a short acoustic set for the event. Colin on stage @ 16.30.
Cuddly Shark encapsulate a purist “plug in and play” ethos with a touch of ice cold rock’n’roll. Idiosyncratic lyricism and odd anti-melodies combine with foot down, pedal-to-the-metal performances.
