"Epic riff rage...and transcendent, melodic splendour" - Keith Cameron, NME

Paul Campion - guitar and vocals
Caz Riley - bass
Dave Gormley - drums
Mark Raine - lead guitar

Just when it seems that the guitar has been drafted into the exclusive service of the big trad wolf, Scots alchemists a.c. acoustics return to prove that, in the right hands, rock can still be vital, experimental and.....cool. Their forthcoming album, due early 1997, will be a collision of cloud-kissing tunes and juggernaut guitars on an epic scale. With a dynamic that effortlessly spans confessional intimacy and grand gesture it will be the most accomplished British rock record of the year. At the centre is singer Paul Campion, a haunting and haunted presence with the wry passion of Leonard Cohen and the wired, androgynous fragility of Patti Smith. For once, it seems as though there's some point in four white boys rocking the guitar/bass/drums formula, a.c. acoustics are driven, a band on fire.

Coming together in Glasgow in 1988, Caz, Paul and original member Roger Ward (guitar) dabbled in noisy experimentalism with a line up that included saxophone and violin. A welcome alternative to the vapid white soul that had become the city's late Eighties trademark, they played their first gig supporting drone-rock heroes Spacemen 3 and continued by gigging in galleries and other unusual locations around Glasgow, often supplying music for friends' multimedia performances. In 1991 a collaboration between the band and Handheld Films won a special prize at the Edinburgh Festival. The band soon gravitated to a series of supports with various indie hopefuls of the day, releasing an extremely limited edition, exquisitely packaged bootlegs. Then they split up.......until Paul decided to give it a second go, bringing back Caz and Roger and drafting in Dave from fellow Glasgow band Thrum.

A series of hometown gigs led to the recording of the 5 track `Wrist Eye' demo in the summer of 1992, which featured Teenage Fanclub bassist Gerry Love as backing vocalist on `Can't See Anything'. (An old mate of the band, he asked for 4 cans of Murphy's as payment- he clearly wasn't bitter). The new songs were more focused, fusing blistering guitar pyrotechnics with Paul's vulnerable, hypnotic vocals. A second demo, comprising `Sweatlodge', `MV' (both later to be released as the band's debut single) and `Hand Passes Plenty' (destined to be the indie chart conquering follow up), enticed EI-e-mental head honcho Nick Evans up to Glasgow to see a gig the band had filled with their mates. Always up for a good scam, Nick signed the band and, with support slots with PJ Harvey and The Jesus Lizard under their belts, the `Sweatlodge'/'MV' blue vinyl 7" was released in December 1993. Recorded for a paltry £40, the single prompted Jim Arundel (writing in Melody Maker) to hail the "two helpings of genius on one platter", while Danny Frost of the NME thought it "absolutely beezer". The single also caught the ear of John Peel, who was moved to play their debut session (recorded Christmas 93) three times commenting Am I hallucinating, or are this band truly brilliant?".

The band's first full tour followed, as did dates with Girls against Boys and a debut Evening Session session. Recorded in February 1994, the seven track mini album `Able Treasury' appeared in May, garnering ecstatic reviews. As nurses brought the screens, John Robinson in the NME praised the "mixture of the instantly recognisable and the frankly lunatic that makes AC Acoustics such a vital prospect" while lan Watson in MM recommended "Check yourself into intensive care now. This one's going to leave you laughing deliriously in the gutter."

In December of the same year, the `Hand Passes Plenty EP' was released to similarly rave reviews (Chain With No Name and Evening Session singles of the week) and took up a lengthy residency in the upper reaches of the indie charts. The ep's four tracks were further evidence of the steady evolution of the Acoustics' sound, with bruised melodies and insistent hooks brought to the fore, and `Love Lies (Equanerno Mix)' achieving an eerie and ambitious mixture of acoustic guitar, beats and wailing sax. Roger was replaced by Mark, a long term fan who'd been doggedly following the band around since the early days. Mark was immediately thrown into an Evening Session, an acoustic set at Tower Records in Piccadilly for World Aids Day and a national tour. Back home again, the new line up set about writing and recording the new album, with a break for a storming Reading appearance.

Summer 1996 saw the band reward their patient fans with the limited edition, one sided `I Messiah Am Jailer' 7", released while they toured the UK with Placebo and Linoleum, AC Acoustics are currently working on material for their debut full length album, due in the New Year, with Tim Palmer mixing. The songs are written in "the universal language of love and loathing," says Paul. "The songs are like plays for several voices, they have several characters rather than just me. I like the lyrics to read well, rather than the typical primary school stuff... I'm more interested in half rhymes than obvious rhymes. We've used cello and piano too, but in a deliberately experimental way. It's not pompous. This record is a logical culmination of all we've done before - it feels like the end of some kind of journey... I guess that s what's exiting about it."

November 1996 saw the release of the `Stunt Girl EP' with the tracks `Shoka',`Skeptic Wrist Eye' and `Sidenova' included.

`Here's to the kiss, here's to the landslide" - 'Kill Zane'

"Marvelously loud and exiting live" - Steve Lamacq, Select.

"In the realm of the enigmatic and intriguing... fine acid-dazed melodies" - Johnny Cigarettes, NME

"The sheer pop sensibility that (they) try to fuck up with dissonance and squall serves to heighten the adrenalin." - Peter Paphides, Melody Maker.

"Cool." - Sharon O'Connell, Melody Maker.