Sam Fender meets Catfish and the Bottlemen…but make it Scottish.
And the Bandages are back with their fourth single, ‘A Poor Mans Version of Myself’ and what a release. Anthemic guitar riffs, rock like drums and pop-rock lyrics create a Scottish tune that’s a pleasure to the ears. Originally from Wishaw, North Lancashire, Adam, Ross, Glen and Ewan have been long time friends, having gone to school together. Their long time friendship definitely translates into their music as the band jam out together in their previous singles, ‘A Poor Mans Version of Myself’ being no different.
The song starts with a guitar melody as an intro before the rest of the instruments come in. Scottish accented singing is introduced with lyrics of missing out on opportunities and not fulfilling your dreams, simultaneously the instruments strip back so you have nothing but the lyrics and gritty vocals to focus on as he sings.
Cause I’m wasting away all my time. And I coulda been better but I guess that’s just life. I’m a poor mans version of myself, it’s fine.
The pop rock tempo and melody contrasting with the pessimistic lyrics creates a relatable song that anybody could resonate with as they feel not quite achieved in their life and reminiscing over lost hopes of the past. The song builds and mellows throughout, creating a flow to the music as you feel the singers feelings of hopelessness and anger. The bridge strips back the instruments building back up as the desperation in the singers voice grows before jumping back into the chorus once again full force making it one of my personal favourite parts of the song, reminding me of one of my favourite Scottish bands, The Twilight Sad.
The group saw great success with their debut ‘Three Day Bender’ amassing over 36,000 streams on Spotify followed by their single ‘Tough Luck‘. Taking inspirations from The Smiths, Catfish and the Bottlemen and a personal favourite of mine, Sam Fender, the band have gigged consistently around central Scotland, being able to support Vida at the infamous King Tuts and at the end of May they will be supporting Outcharms in The Garage in Glasgow on the 31st. I’m sure the lads have much up there sleeves for 2025 and I look forward to what they will do next.
