The Termites – Square Go – album review

July 5, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

After a long hiatus since their last release, 2008’s Kicked in the Teeth, The Termites will shortly release their first album in eighteen years on 13 Deluxe Records in the shape of a live album, Square Go. The record is a celebration of their recent return to the live stage with gigs in a big top in the grounds of Kilmarnock’s Dean Castle, from whence this album recording comes, and Glasgow’s Audio, which I was fortunate to have attended.  

The album’s title was initially planned as the name for a new studio album, but Square Go was far too appropriate a title to pass up for a recording that catches for posterity the raucous nature of those live shows with wrecking pits of heaving bodies slamming into each other, chicken dancing elbows akimbo in a good natured square (dancing) go… I admit that despite my advancing years, I was sorely tempted to join the melee in Audio but my sensible head took over telling me I’d probably have needed about a week to recover.… Read the rest

Summer Nights Warm Up – Alcatraz, Awful Eyes & Leisureland

July 4, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

I was fortunate to be invited to a secret gig in King Tut’s last night ahead of the start of their Summer Nights series of gigs. This annual showcase features a whole host of the best of new and emerging Scottish bands and the warm up event featured three bands who have headlined at either Summer Nights or New Years Revolution, Leisureland, Awful Eyes and Alcatraz.

The venue was packed with invited members of bands who are performing at this years event, many for the first time and as such, one of the Summer Nights promoters, Meg hosted a Q&A before the bands played their sets with all three acts giving some insight and the benefits of their experience.… Read the rest

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – live in Glasgow

July 3, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

I don’t use the word icon lightly, with a period in recent years where the word was ubiquitous, utterly overused, everything seemed to be described as “iconic,” almost as much misused as another of my most hated words, literally… literally, everything was iconic… ha ha.

Anyway, when it comes to Joan Jett, the word fits her as perfectly as her tight leather breeks did last night. Hers was a performance of understated cool NYC nonchalance, cutting a suave figure of effortless style, and an air of unhurried consummate professionalism, having the hyper-hyped crowd eating out of her hands from the get go.… Read the rest

Saint Sappho – Between the Lines – album review

June 29, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Between the Lines, is the debut album from Saint Sappho, the Glasgow based duo of Zoe Young and Tammy Bryson. an entirely DIY project recorded and produced in their home studio and independently released on vinyl and CD as well as on streaming platforms. The result of their hard work and commitment to the cause is a stunningly atmospheric collection of 13 sublime surging anthemic songs with an existential edge whose lyrics ponder identity, belonging, grief and the meaning of life and death. The soul of the songs is deeply rooted in 1980’s and 90’s alternative rock, with the duo carefully cherry picking a variety of elements from a range of diverse genres of the era, from trip hop to grunge, indie rock to baggy/indie dance to create their very own distinctly rich and vibrant sound, moody and sweepingly vast in equal measures, while also maintaining a mysterious air of hypnotic hazy dreaminess.… Read the rest

Carla J Easton – I Think That I Might Love You – album review

June 23, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Carla J Easton has had a busy few years, co-writing/directing and narrating the wonderful Since Yesterday documentary, and the promo that went along with it, and a Hen Hoose Collective album, The Twelve, in January (review here). Now she has followed up her 2023 solo album, Sugar Honey with the excellent I Think That I Might Love You in May. Taking her motivation from many of the inspirational women featured in Since Yesterday, and being encouraged to pick up a guitar by Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines, who Carla has toured with since 2017, on this new record she has stepped out from behind her synths and keyboards to play guitar for the first time, and the results are a captivating new chapter in her glittering career.… Read the rest

The Countess of Fife – New Phone, New Car, New Man – album review

June 22, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

As I finally get around to reviewing this album it comes with with a sense of sadness owing the sudden passing of guitarist Brian McFie, a beautiful soul who has left an indelible mark on both the Scottish music scene and on the hearts of everyone who had the fortune of knowing him. Only a short time before his untimely passing I had the good fortune to witness his heartfelt playing with Fay Fife’s Countess of Fife guise alongside bandmates Kirsten, Al and Willy and Fay’s unrivalled vocals they created a glorious celebratory sound in Glasgow’s intimate Southside venue The Glad Cafe at the second of their two gigs to celebrate the release of this album.… Read the rest

TRNSMT Warm Up Gig – King Tuts – Sister Madds, Tina Sandwich & Lacuna

June 19, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

This pre TRNSMT gig in King Tuts featured three of Scotlands finest DIY/independent bands and laid down a marker for where any discerning music fan going to the festival should focus their time and energy this weekend…

The annual bucket hat festival in Glasgow this weekend is struggling by all accounts, ticket sales have been poor, with deals available on discount websites and new late entry offers to try to boost sales. To me, this is no surprise as, on the face of it, when you look take a glance at the the line up with the headliners in bold type, it is singularly uninspiring, it feels like a confused bill, not really sure itself of who it is targeting, but if you take time to look beyond the dull headliners, there are some golden nuggets to be found, some further down on the bill on the main stage like Brogeal, English Teacher & Rianne Downey early on Saturday.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – May – Part 4

June 17, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The latest part of May’s singles is another smorgasbord from across genres and spanning the Atlantic with a good sprinkling of up and coming Scottish bands and there is an undercurrent of rock n roll/rockabilly and blues in several of the songs in this part of the round up…

First up, having collaborated on their previous single with The Interrupters, Dead Pioneers have joined forces with Sleaford Mods Jason Williamson for The Worst Among Us. The message behind the song is as valid for the UK in our present times as it is for Gregg Deal’s home in the  USA. US Presidents and parties like Reform with their racist narratives are emboldening the far right… “The worst among us cast shadows long” …as seen by recent events in Belfast and closer to home in Glasgow.… Read the rest

5 Years of Crowded Flat – Gig review

June 15, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

All photographs courtesy of Dale Harvey

It’s always nice to go to a birthday party, and when that birthday party is to celebrate the vibrant Scottish DIY scene marking 5 years of the brilliant Crowded Flat, with a high calibre line up of bands to help get the party rocking, it makes it all the sweeter. The independent music scene in Scotland is so strong just now, every week there seems to be a new band on the scene, with new singles dropping every few days, what a time to be alive…

I had a stressful time on my drive to the venue, living within almost Kenny McLean shooting from the halfway line distance of the national stadium I was held up as horde of pink cowboy hat bedecked middle aged women descended on the Southside to witness a bunch of washed up millionaires topping up their pension funds.… Read the rest

Introducing the Band(s) – You Are Here – The New Sound of Scotland CD

June 12, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Having had the seed of an idea towards the end of 2025, and then going through the stress of being let down by an unreliable CD production company, The New Sound of Scotland finally saw the light of day a few weeks ago. The idea for the CD was to celebrate the vibrant music scene in Scotland and the new, young and emerging Scottish bands that form part of that scene. The 30 songs across 2 CDs in this compilation form just a snapshot of the burgeoning underground music scene in Scotland, and the word is out, with many of the bands on this first (?)… Read the rest

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