Famous Groupies: Black Apple (2024)

I raved about Famous Groupies a few years back when I first discovered them, but I'm just now belatedly getting into their most recent release, 2024's Black Apple. As noted last time, Famous Groupies are the project of Scottish musician Kirkcaldy McKenzie, joined by various friends & family, though the fanciful band bio makes it hard to say for sure. While plenty of bands fussed over on these pages check the "Beatlesque" box, to one degree or another, Famous Groupies are particularly influenced--as anyone who recognizes the band name might surmise--by 70s-era Paul McCartney & Wings. This can range from the general sense of whimsy and melody, to the outright borrowing of McCartney's riffs.

And while their records are more Wings than Beatles, Black Apple--a sprawling, stylistically varied double album--may be McKenzie's White Album, or at least if the White Album were a Paul-only affair (though the band already, prematurely named their 2020 album The Furry White Album). There are some great standout tracks, like the rocking "One Need Leads" (shades of "Junior's Farm"), the quirky "Who What When Why?" (which sounds like a great lost XTC single), and the bouncy "Mad Mad Mad Madmen." It may be a little less consistent than the Groupies' last two records, as one might reasonably expect on a double LP, with McKenzie a little too enamored of Paul's "Honey Pie" musical hall tendencies, but overall makes for a delightfully colorful package for lovers of baroque pop. 

Check it out on Bandcamp. (Sadly, it doesn't stream.)

"One Need Leads":

"The Scotch Of St. James":

"The Harmony Of Love" (from 2020's Furry White Album):