Yip Man of Scotland: Cock of the North

Yip Man of Scotland, alter ego of Al Nero, does some serious soul-searching on his new album Cock of the North. Besides his signature sarcasm (>Bullshit Detector, Everybody's Fool) and wicked sense of humour - flushing a toilet at the end of Everybody's Got Their Own Shit Going On he also look inside with songs like Evil Doppelganger and This is the Last One.

Nero's music is an amalgam of rambling indie rock, a touch of vaudeville and lopsided New Wave. His gift for infectious melody and raucous rhythms make Cock of the North a joy to listen to. He cares a lot, while sounding careless and totally loose, an act that is hard to follow, supplying a breath of fresh air in the stuffy singer-songwriter niche.

Yip Man of Scotland: What's Your Secret?

Yip Man of Scotland, alter ego of Al Nero, has released the second single from his forthcoming new album Cock of the North. It's a hook-filled plea to not take everything so seriously, especially when inspiration fails to kick in and the lyrics don't materialize out of thin air like they used to. He wont't a way to capture his writer's black and when tall out building a complex yet utterly likeable piece of rock where glam, grunge and indie are dancing together with reckless abandon. The off-kilter video was made by Jason Sinclair of Poppycock Films, whose in the clip as himself, and label owner Alan Souter portrays a cigar-munching clueless exec.

Yip Man of Scotland: Evil Doppelganger

Yip Man of Scotland, alter ego of Al Nero, discusses his dark side on his new single Evil Doppelganger, a noisy folk-rock song. He is dead serious, never mind the tongue-in-cheek lyrics. As he gets older his anxieties about where he is heading seem to increase. The video was made by Jason Sinclair of Poppycock Films.

Yip Man: "Tremors" video

Watch the new Yip Man of Scotland video for Tremors, a track from his Pure Zen, Ken? album. It is about the restless legs syndrome.

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HCTF review of Pure Zen, Ken?

Yip Man of Scotland: Pure Zen, Ken?

Yip Man of Scotland, alter ego of Al Nero, sings about fears and uncertainties on his new album Pure Zen, Ken?, while trying to have fun no matter what. Suffering sucks, but not be able to laugh is even worse and Nero offers an eclectic array of possible cures to deal with mishaps. Whether it is a Disco Ball to shed some light or dabbling in unlikely chores such as Weighing a Pig, he comes out on top most of time.

Pure Zen, Ken? celebrates eccentricity, with musical nods to the Kinks, XTC, and Madness. His nasal delivery gives the songs the tongue-in-cheek detachment a la Neil Innes. The against all odds rocker Here Comes The Feelings and the poppy sadness of Aye Peckin' should earn him some long overdue airplay.

HCTF premiere - Yip Man of Scotland: Here Comes The Feelings

Yip Man of Scotland, alter ego Al Nero, takes not giving a fuck to a new level on his new single Here Comes The Feelings, a defiant, rumbling rocker, with drums and guitar trying to get the upper hand as he delivers his "whatever man" lyrics. The animated video is a tribute to the weirdness of Monty Python's Terry Gilliam.

HCTF premiere - Yip Man of Scotland: Suffer More

Yip Man of Scotland, alter ego of self-professed sarcastic Al Nero, takes the piss on his new single Suffer More, as a belated answer to Aldous Huxleys statement that an artist need to be decidedly unhappy in order to create something worthwhile. Nero blasts this concept to bits with a joyous one-fingered salute and aloof vocals.

Suffer More will be released via Armellodie Records. Release date: May 31.

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Yip Man: Braw Power

Yip Man, alter ego of Al Nero can make sarcasm sound like fun. Formerly the leader of underground indie favourites Le Reno Amp he founded a record label, Armellodie Records, before dropping all things for a lengthy sojourn in China. Now he is back with his first solo full-length, Braw Power.

Back in the day, when musicians had travelled East, they came back with huge stories about enlightenment and/or new sounds that they would be using in their music. Nero does none of that, but sticks to his forte: writing catchy guitar tunes with acerbic lyrics, not excluding himself in the process when he describes himself as a Skinny White Ghost. Everyone's at fault and falls over in their half-hearted efforts to make it, so why not have a good laugh about it. Recommended if you like The Jam and Pavement.