Walt Disco ‘You Make Me Feel So Dumb’.
Walt Disco have confirmed details of their second album ‘The Warping’, set to arrive on 14th June via Lucky Number. Written between Los Angeles, Austin, London, and their hometown Glasgow, new album will act as a follow-up to their acclaimed 2022 debut ‘Unlearning’ – said to be both expansive and introspective, exploring themes of change, growth, gender dysphoria and self-knowledge against a backdrop of grand orchestral soundscapes of horn, woodwind, and string sections.
Along with the album announcement, they’ve also shared a striking new single called ‘You Make Me Feel So Dumb’ – a cynical pop banger about social burnout experienced after networking on tour. Sparkling with ingenuity, the influence of funk and disco shines through the understated melodies.
Soapbox ‘Fascist Bob’
One of the most bizarre stories to come out of Scottish music in the last couple of weeks has been from the world of Soapbox. Bizarrely and incongruously discovered by a group of far-right nationalists in America, the Glasgow punks have rightly railed against this unwanted attention with the release of a bludgeoning new single called ‘Fascist Bob’. A blistering, hard-hitting slice of punk rock, their powerful anti-fascist message is delivered loud and clear – laying waste to such ‘Fascist Bob’ characters and lyrically assassinating all those who associate. One of the most exciting bands in Glasgow right now, they headline King Tuts on 26th April in support of their debut EP ‘Hawd That’, also slated for release next month.
Of the track, frontman Tom said: “Fascist Bob is about the frustrations you feel after talking to old stoaters in pubs who seem alright at first before starting to sprout racist and homophobic shite . It’s kind of wish fulfilment about what you’d like to see happen to these vile old men… they get away with so much just by saying they were born to a different time which is a load of shite.”
Becky Sikasa ‘The Writing And The Pictures And The Song’
This week Becky Sikasa shared her second EP ‘The Writing And The Pictures And The Song’. A stunning collection, it features previously heard singles like ‘Wait Up’, ‘Work Of Love’ and ‘crashing and falling’ alongside some new material, each track coming together to piece together a journey of love – falling out of love, heartbreak, platonic love, self-love and ultimately personal growth. Delivered straight from the heart, it’s layered with emotion and lyrical vulnerability – her words and delectable vocal harmonies elevated by carefully crafted arrangements which oscillate between blissful R&B, stirring soul and indie.
Speaking of the EP, she said “The title is a line from my song ‘work of love’ and it feels so apt because the song ties a lot of the ideas of this EP together. It’s in the complete disillusion and process of un-believing what I thought I knew about love following my first heart break. The winded path of figuring out what love means when you take away the rom com narrative; those somewhat skewed ideas gathered from stories and films and literature and music.
Brògeal ‘Fly Away’
Following on from ‘Girl From NYC’, ‘Fly Away’ is the second single to feature on Brògeal’s upcoming new EP. Driven by a soaring chorus, it’s easily their most ambitious offering to date – indicating that they’re pushing their Celtic folky sound to exciting new places, while still maintaining those expressive, melodic qualities. The band headline King Tuts on 29th March before heading to The Great Escape in May.
Speaking of the track, they say: “We’re finally ready for everyone to hear the new tune ‘Fly Away’. We believe it pushes new boundaries of the Brògeal sound- so it’s very exciting. It’s a rose tinted and polite way of telling someone to fuck off x It sprang from a jam in the practice room, we knew it could sound massive so we worked on it and harnessed that energy.
swim school ‘To Grow’
swim school explore personal self-growth on their reflective new single ‘To Grow’. A far cry from the blistering rock of ‘BORED’ and ‘Give Me A Reason Why’, the new track is more tender and intimate – stripped back to just guitar and Alice’s thoughtful vocals. Capturing the melancholy but also the strength that can be found in leaving behind the past for a new era, it’s a poignant return. It will also feature on the upcoming ‘Seeing It Now’ mixtape to be released on April 17th, the eve of their debut UK headline tour.
“It’s a song about the personal growth everyone goes through.” says swim school’s Alice Johnson of their new track ‘To Grow’, out now on LAB Records. “I bumped into somebody who used to be a massive part of my life recently, someone I’d spent endless time with and who really felt like family but then became a stranger. It made me think about that time but also about how much I’d developed as a person as a result. And that’s what ‘To Grow’ is about – losing a certain part of yourself, for the better, in order to move on and keep growing as a person.”
Former Champ ‘Hold On’
Following the release of their Vol.1 EP which arrived earlier this year, Former Champ are back and in fine form on ‘Hold On’. Set to feature on the follow-up EP ‘Vol.2’ later this year, ‘Hold On’ is a buoyant reminder to seize the moment and look forward. An adrenaline rush of duelling guitars, instantly gratifying choruses and empowering vocals, it’s another triumph from the outfit.
“My experience in music, as a solo artist, was quite often tough and lonely,” says McKay, who released three critically acclaimed albums as Martha Ffion. “This is the first time I’ve had a band, a gang. It’s different.”
“We have all been doing this for a long time,” adds Craig Angus (guitar). “But none of us can quit it, or want to quit it. ‘Hold On’ is about staying your path, moving forward and remembering that mistakes and setbacks are an unavoidable part of being alive.”
naafi ‘UVA’
After seizing our attention with the hypnotic ‘Magnolia, Glasgow-based artist naafi has shared a new single called ‘UVA’ – and it’s set to feature on an EP of the same name. Built on an insistent, looping vocal melody, the track is an entirely different beast to its predecessor – driven by pulsating, club-inspired beats and vocal hooks that burrow deep into your brain.
“It’s about someone really caring about the way they are perceived rather than how they are,” explains naafi. “This was the last track on the EP that I wrote and I think I had developed more skills as a producer by this point. So I feel like the production in this one is the best technically.” naafi adds: “I also developed this one through playing it live; some of the synth parts weren’t in the track until I improvised it live over the top and thought ‘no, that has to be in the actual track…'”
Rory James ‘Missing (Summer’s Edit)’
Released through Altered States, Rory James has shared an invigorating new single called ‘Missing’. Adding a darker night-time edge to his blissful dream-pop, it’s a club-ready banger – featuring Summer Skye from Plasticine on vocals, her voice the perfect foil to the pulsating beats and atmospheric electronica which surround it.
Dillon Squire ‘The Stars Don’t Always Align’
Following the release of last year’s ‘Yellow Car No Hitbacks’ EP, Dillon Squire has wasted little time in returning to the studio. With a seemingly insatiable thirst for crafting heartfelt indie anthems with huge hooks and heart-on-sleeve lyrics, his new track ‘The Stars Don’t Always Align’ will bolster his already flourishing reputation. Striking a stirring balance between melancholy and catharsis, it’s a massive track that’s made for the big stages – armed with a soaring chorus, some rousing guitar work and singalong refrains.
John Rush ‘Waitin’ for your love to call’
Following his admission that he almost walked away from music a decade ago, John Rush has returned with one of his finest singles to date in ‘Waitin’ for your love to call’. In fact, Rush has re-emerged from the studio with a revitalised thirst for his craft and what feels like an unleashed creativity – adding new dynamics to his soulful rock sound with driving guitars, triumphant brass elements and soulful harmonies. Driven by a vital sense of urgency, it’s a euphoric call for love that demands attention.
BIG SPECIAL ‘BUTCHER’S BIN’
Following on from the abrasive ‘DUST OFF/ START AGAIN’ released early in February, BIG SPECIAL continue their explosive momentum with ‘BUTCHER’S BIN’. The track joins the lineup on board their upcoming debut album, ‘POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES’, out 10th May via SO Recordings.
Lead singer Joe Hicklin comments, “BUTCHER’S BIN is about class awareness and the realisation that the working classes are used as nothing but a commodity and set against each other at every turn, their existence trivialised and struggles denied; the off cuts tossed to feed the rabid hounds of neoliberalism”. The album arrives with news of the band’s biggest London headline show to date at The Forum in November, as well as a tour in support of Placebo through South America in March.
Divorce ‘Gears’
Supported by a feature in the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist, ‘Gears’ is a riff-driven exploration of fluctuating identities that surges to a dramatic crescendo. Produced by Catherine Marks (boygenius, Foals, Wolf Alice), an insight to Divorce through honest lyricism connotes their rapidly growing reputation as undeniable talent.
Singer/guitarist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow comments, “Gears was written when I’d just moved to London and was working very long hours whilst trying to keep up with increasing band commitments for Divorce. I was spending all of my time working or playing shows and couldn’t maintain any kind of social life or keep up with the spending a social life felt like it would cost. The song came out of those frustrations.”
Divorce soon head on a tour of the UK, supporting Everything Everything across all the big cities before a summer bombarded across Europe with festival appearances including Truck Festival, London Calling Festival and Black Deer Festival.
Yellow Days ‘Mrs Moonlight’
Presented as the first single from his upcoming album ‘HOTEL HEAVEN’, the emphatic Yellow Days shares ‘MRS MIDNIGHT’. Recorded in his flat in Brick Lane, the track sees the singer/ songwriter perform every instrument and programme of all the drums on this sonic introduction for what is shaping up to be an incredible LP.
Yellow Days (aka George van den Broek) comments, “‘HOTEL HEAVEN’ represents fake comfort in all its forms, this whole bullshit idea of luxury where nothing is real. I wanted to write about everything that is happening right now – this TikTok age where everyone wants to be famous. It’s also a big 360 of my life and career to date. I wanted to get away from everything I’d done before, wash my face and start afresh.”
Recently announced details of major touring plans for 2024 sees Yellow Days embark on his first full UK headline tour since 2018, including a landmark London show at KOKO, followed on by a run of dates in Europe and concluded with two legs of extensive North American touring.
