PRESS/REVIEWS
RECENT REVIEWS
Review of "Let Me In, I'm Starving" from Jockrock fanzine.
OLDER REVIEWS
BBC Online - Radio 1 - Inside Radio 1 - Session In Scotland Website
Quinn &
Ballboy & Donut
13th Note, 19th April 2000
Donut
are as fresh as daisies, but much louder, and aren't worried about wearing their
influences on their collective sleeve, while still managing to create a noise
that has enough original bits to keep the uninitiated interested AND please
their, er, three hardcore fans (chums? relatives?) jumping about down the front.
They jangle in all the right places and aren't afraid to rock, without ever
descending into RAWK cliché Ville. Their enthusiasm is infectious, they still
look surprised at the (very) occasional bum note and they're having fun, which
is what it's meant to be about. The vocals get a bit lost in the mix so it's
hard to tell what they're on about all the time, but the guitar, bass, keyboards
and drums line-up carry Donut forward just fine. Singer Richard even does a wee
tippy-toe shuffle at one point which isn't going to cause any sleepless nights
in the Michael Flatley household but at least 'Donut' look like they're enjoying
it.
Martin MacGuire
Go! Magazine - Issue No. 20 - 12 May - 8 June 2000
Quinn &
Ballboy & Donut
13th Note, 19th April 2000
Kids of today, eh? Donut don't even look old enough to be playing the Note, but somehow they come across as a mixture of XTC and Win and Devo and countless other 'new-wave' bands from their parents' childhoods. Wonky keyboard and a drum machine (those went out in the eighties too) complete the line-up. The most endearing thing is that they appear to be having fun, bouncing around on stage, as do their fan club; three blokes at the front, who apart from leading off the dancing participate in a not-at-all staged call and response shout-a-long. The oddest thing is that despite all this, they don't actually sound much like Bis. Bonkers.
Clinic
& Donut
13th Note, 4th May 2000
First act up consisted of four kids claiming to be Donut, a name which must surely be occupied already. My companion and I set about a course of negative humour as to their likely ability while I grinned inappropriately at the girl on Keyboards. Fortunately she didn't notice; that would only have made us both uncomfortable. As it happened, Donut were rather better than expected and wholly suitable for a Clinic support slot. Yet while more imaginative than most of their peers, they're not as smart as they clearly think they are, and the amusement they obviously find in their occasional use of foul language seems little more than a childish indulgence that does not suit children. Still, we've all got to start somewhere and depending on their motivation, their goals, Donut may very well prove interesting to more than just their embarrassing dancing friends.
Andrew Morrison
Glasgow University Guardian (17/5/00) & Fly Magazine - June 2000 Issue
Clinic
& Donut
13th Note, 4th May 2000
If there is a fine line between cheesy and quirky, then Donut would have taken that line, reshaped it into designs of stickmen and stickwomen shagging, and probably snorted it. Then wrote a song. Their music spins around a collage of whatdafuck eye movements, out-there keyboards, and refracting double-jointed fidgeting. Mmm...Donut.
[Next bit was a wee extra bit from the Guardian]
"Most Memorable Moment: Donut's unsedated dancing monkey boys"
Jason Cranwell
Scotbuzz.com
Donut Demo Review
This weeks demo for review is from DONUT - a Glasgow band with a strange and yet pretty interesting sound. Recorded last year, the demo has three tracks lovingly laid down on glorious 4-Track. It captures the fun attitude the band has to song writing and the way they present themselves. There aren't many bands doing the rounds right now who can combine both electronic and acoustic instrumentation and make it sound seamless, but DONUT pull this off well. The second track on the demo - "Deformed Little Pinkie Toe'" is really well put together and certainly a song the band should consider recording again in a studio environment.
All in all, a pretty impressive demo for a first shot on 4 track.
J. Phee
Donut
Nice 'n' Sleazys, 5th July 2000
It's been said before, but Donut have long memories for such a young act. XTC and Devo are most apparant in their set, not just their music, but their 'act' - jumpy movements, weird noises, false endings, the whole gamut. Lyrically they're not burdened by the good sense of experience as titles like Gimp Chimp and Clone Ranger show. But everything is carefully thought out, and there's even clever interplay with their audience who wear band t-shirts and hold lighters aloft during the (brief) drops in pace in their songs. Though the music's not that much like Bis their development from punky, perky popsters to accomplished songwriters may - may - follow the same path. But for now, it's fast, jerky and a bit hot and sweaty, which is how rock 'n' roll is supposed to be. Donut have learned well.