2024 is set to be a bumper year for releases by some of the Scottish music scene’s rising talents. Not satisfied with the release of their self titled debut album later in the year, Edinburgh based post-punk supergroup Scorpio Leisure release their 4 track EP, Apology this month, a treat for those who have a voracious appetite for the band’s music and need an amuse-bouche to keep them going ahead of the main course.
The band is the coming together of like-minded friends and musicians from a variety of bands past and present, representing a cross section of the alternative music scene, all throwing their individual styles and influences into the melting pot and resulting in the serving up of an unconventionally unique and luscious offering in their own inimitable style. My first listen to the EP was in the car on one of those rare early spring sunny days in Glasgow, and somehow it all felt wrong… Let me clarify, the music itself is far from wrong, but as the louche and sultry laid back groove of the opening track Apology flowed rakishly from the speakers seducing my eardrums, I got an overwhelming feeling I should have waited until later, when the darkness of the night took over before unleashing the provocatively oppressive intensity that dripped from the speakers, so much so that it felt like the apology Hettie was looking for was from me.
But it was too late, I was hypnotised and deeply invested in the music, I couldn’t stop now and that guilty feeling of peeking behind the curtain intensified as Apology gave way to the fierce energy of Feeling Sleazy, Hettie’s breathless vocal underlined with a tumultuously chaotic electric guitar riff and strident, throbbing bass line, with little elements of Chic/funk chucked in for good measure and calling you to the dancefloor. Candy Floss and Gin follows and is as captivating and enchanting as the EP’s opening song, mixing the steamy intensity of Apology with an assured coolness and cocksure swagger.
The EP closes in style with Calm Down, a complex mix of layered instrumentation creating a sweepingly majestic melody to back Hettie’s soothing vocal, this feels like the song for the morning after, soaring through the night before the come down as the sun rises on a new day… and the welcoming in of what is still to come with the album later in the year.
Order your EP now from Last Night From Glasgow and while you’re at it, get the album pre-ordered too, then don’t leave before adding a ticket for the LNFG weekender featuring the talents of Scorpio Leisure amongst a host of others…
Scorpio Leisure – Apology EP (CD / DL) (lastnightfromglasgow.com)
Scorpio Leisure are:
- Hettie Noir – Vocals/Lyrics
- Coco Whitson – Bass/8 String Bass
- Russell Burn – Drums/effects/mixig
- Ricky Maymie – Guitars
- Mungo Carswell – Guitars