Category: Indie

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

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

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

Singles Round Up 2026 – May – Part 1

May 27, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

It’s a small miracle, I’ve nearly caught up with the singles round ups, not quite the end of May yet and here is the first part of the round up for May, with more to come of course…

wojtek the bear are producing some of the best songs of their career just now in my humble opinion, from the response track to Kylie’s Got a Crush On Us, the tongue in cheek kylie’s put a curse on us, through the self deprecating french blue to this, the third single to come from album, i don’t think you want to be here.… Read the rest

Warmduscher & San Jose – live in the Classic Grand

May 19, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

This was a bit of a last minute one, I’d seen the Warmduscher gig advertised but it was only in the last week or so that I noticed San Jose were to be the support, that sealed the deal for me.

Anytime I’ve seen San Jose before, the gig descends into near riot with stage invasions, beer flying, raucous pits, athletic moves and incursions into the crowd from their rambunctious frontman Calum as well as disrobing by the band, well particularly guitarist Cean. Despite the early set time and the fact it was a Tuesday night, pretty much everything was there apart from the stage invasion for the finale, a boisterous and life affirming multi faceted anthem through one of my favourite singles of last year, Dirty Linen.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – April

May 19, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

I feel like I’m running to stand still in playing catch up, but there are so many great new singles out in the wild that I wanted to capture them all, for my own benefit more than anything else. April was another strong month for emerging Scottish talent, alongside more established Scottish bands, as well as singles from far and wide, including a rare appearance from Finland with a new Teksti TV 666 single from their new EP.

Pedalo continue to excel as one of Scotland’s finest purveyors of majestically soulful dream pop with the irresistible groove of Hate Me. Charlotte’s soaring gossamer smooth vocals belie the tale of a broken relationship where the desire to even receive negative emotions would be better than nothing at all.… Read the rest

Buzz Cutz – April Albums Pt 1 – Broken Chanter, Brontës, Sports Frock & The Twilight Sad

May 18, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Still playing catch up with reviews of my favourite albums from 2026 so far, having had an extended absence from the blog and social media in general, and I know The Twilight Sad album was officially a March release…

Broken Chanter – This Could Be Us, You, Or Anybody Else

David McGregor’s latest masterpiece, This Could Be Us, You, Or Anybody Else is a protest album for the 21st Century, perfectly capturing a moment in time that highlights just how dystopian the days we are living in are with his astute observations of what it means to live on this spinning sphere where world leaders seem intent on hitting the self-destruct button and steering us on a crash course to oblivion.… Read the rest

Buzz Cutz – March Albums Pt 2 – The Dandy Warhols, The Darts US, The Deadlians

May 16, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The Dandy Warhols – Pin Ups

The Dandy Warhols take the lead from Bowie in releasing Pin Ups, a compilation of covers from across their illustrious career, some faithful to the originals, but many of them re-worked in The Dandy Warhols own inimitable style. There are seventeen tracks in total from 1960s Dylan, The Byrds and The Beatles, through seventies rock to punk and beyond into post punk, goth and alternative rock territory of the 80s and 90s.

Probably the main highlights are the songs they’ve re-worked, starting with the album’s opener Cherry Bomb flipping things around as they do on Kiss Off, with Courtney taking lead voval on the former and Zia on the latter.… Read the rest