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

Singles Round Up 2026 – May – Part 3

June 9, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The first couple of songs in this part were actually April releases which I didn’t pick up on at the time and there are a few others from earlier in the year that I didn’t pick up on…

Based on the current state of the world and the behaviours of some sections of society I’m beginning to think that the name of this next band is something that really should be considered, anyway… Veto Humans debut single Belong to Glasgow, is a moody brooding track with low key vocals that deliver the refrain of the song’s title repeatedly throughout, the vocal soundtracked by darkly glitchy driving dance beats interspersed with some sonorous guitar riffs. … Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – May – Pt 2

June 6, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

I keep thinking I’m getting there then something knocks me back again… so here we are in June and I’m only on part 2 of May’s singles round up’s with the remainder of April and all of May’s album reviews languishing uncomplete… Anyway here goes for part 2 of May’s singles

Something a bit different from Verse Metrics this month with the multi-textured and hypnotically atmospheric Robin Southby remix of their track Arcane Spillage. A slow burn intro breaks into delicate piano parts, before the rhythm builds and the urgency increases, the refrain of “like I’m being gently pulled apart” glitching and repeating until the full blown thunderous beats and synths opens up.… Read the rest

Sugar – Live in Barrowland – Love You Even Still tour

June 3, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

I don’t often venture out to “bigger” gigs that often these days preferring to spent my hard earned bucks going to several small gigs rather than one big splurge. However, there are those gigs that come along that are a no-brainer and so I found myself in the Barrowland for the first time in an age having set my alarm to buy tickets for Sugar the moment they went on sale. I wasn’t missing this one for anyone…

If I thought the Hug and Pint was a sweat box on Sunday, it had nothing on the Barrowland, and that was even before Sugar made an appearance, I already had lines of perspiration running down my back and things were just going to get hotter in every way imaginable as Bob, David and Malcolm took to the stage and launched into The Act We Act the wall of sound created by the powerful trio hitting like a piledriver from the very first moment.  From… Read the rest

Keeley – The Hug and Pint w/The Martial Arts

June 1, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The end of the weekend loomed but there was one last hurrah to enjoy after the shenanigans of The Termites the night before, this time in the company of the inimitable trio Keeley and their long awaited Glasgow headline show where they treated the gathered throng to their uniquely cinematic soundtrack in celebration of the short life of German backpacker on her ultimately tragic trip through Europe to Ireland. 

Before Keeley it was the turn of another trio, this time led by local stalwart of the indie scene, Paul Kelly and his power pop band The Martial Arts, he was joined on stage by other luminaries of the Scottish music scene Ian Cronin (The Supernaturals) on drums and Simon Shaw of Dragged Up (and a host of others) on bass.… Read the rest

The Termites – live in Audio with Gallowgate Murders and Aftrshocks

May 31, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

There aren’t many guarantees in life, especially in these fucked up dystopian times when Trump does whatever the fuck his perverse addled brain tells him and fuck the consequences while over here Starmer continues to look like a rabbit in the headlights without a clue what he is doing, ultimately both of them acting as the  puppets of Netanyahu…

One thing in life that is guaranteed however is that when you see a gig being put on by Shrunken Head Promotions you just know there will be a party atmosphere from the off, with a vibe that says everyone is welcome and no one is left behind.… Read the rest

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