Scottish four-piece Ecko are made up of Jamie Warden (lead vocal & rhythm guitar) Matthew Welsh (lead guitar), Liam O’Connor (bass), and Jamie Thomson “JT” (drums).
They recently went from rags to riches at Shiiine On ’22 festival, playing to a small crowd on Saturday to nearly two thousand the following night (read all about that here).
From having their first gig on 19th December 2021, they come armed with the confidence of a band who’s nailed the debut album and are ready to make their mark in history with the second.
Let’s check out a couple of their previous singles:
Don’t Get Me Wrong
They inject the indie-funk-punk of ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ with Definitely Maybe’s hissing desire to conquer the world. ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ is blessed with the rolling swagger of the early 90s, the volatility of the Arctic Monkeys’ debut, and the late-night danger of 60s icons such as The Standells and 13th Floor Elevators.
All bands look to the past for inspiration. Some are swallowed up by it, and some fall into parody but Ecko are the rare breed who square up to it and make it sit down. Only they will write their future.
Pyscho Candy (A Deeper Groove Remix)
The intro pays homage to The Stone Roses’ ‘Bye Bye Badman’ but, it’s in the second verse where they stamp their identity on proceedings. The lysergic licks float downstream whilst JT’s drumming delivers a deluge of punk and garage rock brilliance. Lyrically, that verse is one of the finest character narratives witnessed in a generation:
“Psycho Sandy coming down / Like a whisper growing / Through the town / You live too slow you'll fade away / You live too fast you'll do some”
A masterclass in making the decaying high street and it’ wayward souls light up like Shane Meadows classic.