It’s been 24 years since Orange Juice called it a day after releasing the very underrated The Orange Juice album. Along the way a few bands have payed tribute to this seminal Scottish band. Blueboy named themselves after an OJ song and Belle and Sebastian in their early DIY roots claimed them as an influence. Back in the mid-90’s Orange Juice went through a resurgence/rediscovery phase in light of Edwyn Collins’ worldwide smash hit A Girl Like You. Postcard reissued the early singles as well as Ostrich Churchyard and Polydor reissued all three albums as well as the Texas Fever ep.
Ten years later all of those reissues are out of print, so it seems like we’re ripe (sorry) for another revival. The revival, if you can call it that,seems to be manifesting itself a little differently this time around. Lately, it seems like there are a bunch of bands that are paying tribute to Orange Juice in one way or another, either with their sound, their name, or both. Let’s take a closer look at this new Scottish gentry and ascertain their OJQ (Orange Juice Quotient).

Wake the President

Are they Scottish? Very, they come from Glasgow.
Do they sound like Orange Juice? Yeah, You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever and Rip It Up era OJ
What else is there to know? Wake the President call Glasgow their home and have a distinct early OJ thing going on in a lot of their songs. Their first two singles came out on Electric Honey Records which run by students at Stow College in Glasgow, you might remember them for releasing Belle and Sebastian’s Tigermilk. WTP are a four piece fronted by twins Bjorn and Eric. Besides the OJ influence, another Scottish band, the Close Lobsters come to mind when I hear their latest single You Can’t Change that Boy.
Singles: on Say Dirty, Electric Honey and Aufgelanden & Bereit.
Album: due in October.
myspace: Wake the President
OJQ: 82
mp3: You Can’t Change That Boy

Bricolage

Are they Scottish? Another yes, and from Glasgow as well.
Do they sound like Orange Juice? They’ve got an early Postcard singles sound, and not just OJ singles but also a bit of Joseph K.
What else is there to know? They’ve been endorsed by Franz Ferdinand and are pals with Voxtrot. Besides Bricolage hanging out in Glasgow and having a tightly wound early OJ thing going on, their name is French for DIY. Being signed to Memphis Industries bodes kind of well for their chances of making it over to the States. And since there is already an American band with the same name, they’ll likely have to change their name to something goofy like Bricolage UK or Band of Bricolage over here.
Singles on Creeping Bent, Fantastic Plastic, and Memphis Industries
Album: currently recording
myspace: Bricolage
OJQ: 81
mp3: Footsteps

Twig

Are they Scottish?: No, they’re Swedes from Stockholm.
Do they sound like Orange Juice?: Yes, more late period northern soul Orange Juice with a little St. Christopher thrown in.
What else is there to know? They’re a three piece band who’s singer/songwriter Henrik Linden is a librarian. That explains all the literary references, Henrik in the stacks reading books and writing songs. He must also be studying how to perfectly imitate Edwyn Collins croon, he’s nearly got it down too!
Singles on Cloudberry and Plastilina
Album: early 2009 promises Plastilina
myspace: Twig
OJQ: 88
mp3: Helen of Troy

Moscow Olympics

Are they Scottish? Not even close, they’re from the Phillippines.
Do they sound like Orange Juice? Not really, but there is their name, which was an OJ song. They’ve got more of an early New Order and Kitchens of Distinction sound.
What else is there to know? A five piece band that hails from the South Pacific that specializes in dreampop/Sarah records sound may seem crazy, but only to those of us who were ignorant to the indie pop scene in the Phillippines. Moscow Olympics have kind of taken my world by storm quickly releasing a single earlier this year and now album earlier this month. Beautiful stuff that in a perfect world would take everyone by storm.
Singles: Fraction
Album: Cut the World out now on Lavender
myspace: Moscow Olympics
OJQ: 64 – great band but OJ influence appears to be in name alone.
mp3: Cut the World

Scaremongers

Are they Scottish?: Close, but not quite. They’re from up in northern England, Huddersfield to be exact.
Do they sound like Orange Juice? Named after the OJ song Scaremonger from The Orange Juice album, but it’s not just the name. Armitage’s voice and his witty intelligent lyrics remind me of Edwyn.
What else is there to know? The core of the band is writer/poet Simon Armitage and Craig Smith. It’s not just the two of them though, on many of the songs Armitage shares vocals with his wife Sue Roberts and they’ve got full band to flesh out their songs. Besides writing songs Armitage also writes books of poetry and prose. His latest is called Gig: The Life and Times of a Rock-star Fantasist.
Singles: Cloudberry, Corporation Pop
Album: Haven’t seen any info on one.
myspace: Scaremongers
OJQ: 79
mp3: If You Ever Leave Me