Shambolics + Support

Hewing euphoric hope out of moments of genuine hardship, mining sweet melodies from days of dark misery, Fife’s Shambolics’ debut album Dreams, Schemes and Young Teams, shimmers and crackles with defiance, wit, and a typically Caledonian indie rock perfection.

This is the sound of Scotland dreaming again…

This is the sound of stars being gleamed out of gutters…

This is the sound of dreams overpowering despair…

This is the sound of the Shambolics…

Emerging out of Kirkcaldy, Fife in 2018 Shambolics are vocals and guitars duo Darren Forbes and Lewis McDonald, Scott ‘Paws’ Williamson (keys, vocals) Ben Sharp (bass), and Jake Bain (drums); the band’s meteoric rise seemingly confirmed when they were signed to Alan McGee’s Creation 23 label in 2019, with the owner calling them ‘one of the best Scottish bands.’

Despite three excellent singles and an EP, the harrowing void of covid slowed momentum and tough times followed, and it seems that the band were close to breaking up. But Shambolics kept on persevering, they kept on believing in their music, they kept on being inspired by the passion and support they received from their fans, and refused to give in.  Now in 2024, their debut album Dreams, Schemes And Young Teams is the glowing testimony that proves that heroic defiance to be worthy of the hardships it undoubtably provoked.

Produced by Chris Marshall (Gerry Cinnamon), although the twelve songs on Dreams, Schemes And Young Teams are often powerful, acutely observed and occasionally bleak vinaigrettes concerning young people – not only in Fife but all over the world – they are not navel-gazing anthems for doomed youth.