When you take your eye off the ball for a second… I’ve been guilty of ignoring my inbox and my blog of late, I turn away for a couple of weeks and there is a plethora of fantastic new singles from a gamut of bands and styles… This is just the first part of February’s round up, beyond this initial collection, there is another burgeoning list of new singles for February and it is the usual smörgåsbord of sounds from across the globe, with a heavy dose of homegrown talent. Within that homegrown talent in Part 1 there is bona fide music legend Fay Fife in her Countess of Fife guise, and new singles from the likes of Broken Chanter through to newer kids in the block who are making quite an impression on the local scene in the guise of bands like heavyskint and Dallas Love Field. First up we head Stateside to L.A. for a dose of heavy psychedelia…
… from Tombstones in Their Eyes who are no stranger to these singles round ups. You Never Have to Love Me is another slice of gloriously textured, multi-layered psych/shoegaze heavy on the melancholy which builds and heightens to it’s intense zenith.
A message I’m sure many bands, or those in jobs associated with the arts have will have heard ad nauseum. Proper Job from Micko & the Mellotronics is a playfully glamtastic toe-tapping retro anthem that will have you humming the refrain all day as it gets lodged in your auditory cortex.
The Bliss from Swedish rockers Truckfighters comes from their album Masterflow (out on 10th April) and it’s a full on intense fuzz laden anthem which, aside from a brief respite mid-song, it pounds you into submission with it’s incessant driving rhythm.
From sleazy fuzz laden driving rock to sharp-edged industrial electronica on No-one is Coming from Adult. It’s not just the repetitive electro bets that are sharp and brutal, the lyrics from Nicola Kuperus on vocals are spat out with a barbed venom…
I have no recollection of how this song came to my attention, I can’t find any emails or any other contacts, and I can’t seem to find any online presence on socials, just try searching for iDioT doG on Google… Anyway, the single dEad mEn walks the line between first wave of punk, horror punk, Bauhaus and psychobilly, kicking off with some solid drumming and a riff heavy opening, the lyrics start with the protagonist falling into the family crypt… and continues to tell the tale of being “down amongst the dead men” with a mid song spoken word break channelling the spirit of Bela Lugosi…
The positioning of these two songs was purely coincidental, but we move from being “down amongst the dead men” to wanting to Live Again, the sublime new single from The Countess of Fife, which is the first to be released from her forthcoming second album New Phone, New Car, New Man. This song, which in live outings has also been known as Kiss the Rain, has Fay in fine form, with a gloriously impassioned vocal that demonstrates her powerful range. Taking you from quiet introspection accompanied by some swoonsome steel guitar, to the repeated and full bodied stirring plea of “I wanna live again”, this single is a charmingly touching introduction to what is sure to be another special album from Ms Fife, and it’s a fine way to re-assess what you’re doing with your life… life is short and there is no rewind/repeat option. There are plenty of opportunities to catch the songs from the new album live with upcoming dates at Harbour Arts in Irvine in March as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow dates (Voodoo Rooms and Glad Cafe respectively) to celebrate the album release in May.
Minerals is the latest single from Andy Smith’s music project Burnt Log, opening with the sinister buzz of a chainsaw, the song is based on the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree, with lyrics questioning the reason why, and exploring the the subsequent fall out, all of this atop a beautifully intense soundtrack.
The welcome return of Broken Chanter with their first single, Shake it to Bits from their new album This Could Be You, Us or Anybody Else, which is due later in the year, has the band on lively and ebullient form, musically at least. With effervescently sparkling guitar riffs paired with a buoyant exuberant rhythm section it makes for instant gratification and joyful abandon. Then you realise what the lyrics are about… and it adds an element of gravitas to the single, the theme of which is the exploration of toxic masculinity, without removing any of the enjoyment of the song. David writes: “Shake It To Bits highlights
the absurdity of the posturing and vacuity of the rhetoric pushed by these modern day snake oil
salesmen, by stepping into the shoes of, and sending up, one of them.”
As an aside, the perfect lyrical use of bragadocious alone deserves a round of applause.
One of a couple of bands in this part of the round up that are picking up plaudits as one of the talented hot properties emerging from the Scottish music scene. Pastime, the latest single from Dallas Love Field reminds me of Slowdive with it’s ethereal intro and dreamy vocals before the song builds with a warmly fervent ardour to some potently passionate crescendos incorporating sublime chiming guitar lines that sing with a vociferous eloquence.
heavyskint released their debut single Vice in October last year, and subsequently sold out King Tuts in January. On their new single When Are You Coming For Me Jesus? the band seem to have have taken on an even more urgent tone with Jacob Hunter’s vocals seemingly delivered by a man on the edge, with an air of desperate capriciousness. The tense urgency in his tone has you on edge when you listen, expecting something to kick off at any moment and blow the plot to pieces. The accolades being directed towards this band are unsurprising, if the two singles to date are a temperature check things are going to continue to heat up to boiling point for this band.
Edinburgh is the latest single from Middle Class Guilt (Fraser McCallum has been busy, what with his solo outing, this AND a Sister Madds single and its only February…) and it comes from their yet to be released new album Their King of Comedy. Those familiar with the music of the band will be aware of their tendency towards a languid shambling style of music, which is perfectly displayed on Edinburgh, akin to bands like The Fall. Musically this is a perfect foil for lead singer Joseph’s distinct but idiosyncratic style, and as his vocal gets increasingly boisterous as the song reaches its conclusion, the band respond by increasing the clamorous intensity accordingly. I look forward to the album dropping…
Going Wrong is the A side to The Godfathers new AA side single, and it is a worthy addition to their catalogue, Coyne’s familiar vocal almost despairing on top of the sonorous driving guitar riffs and pounding beat of the drums as he reflects on the state of the world, driving his point home with the world weary repeated refrain of “we’re going wrong.” Add to that some considered harmonies and hand claps and “we get through day by day” despite the world “going strange.”
The first of a few session tracks to be released by Yama Rama featuring former Astrid guitarist Charles Clark on lead vocals is Sentimental Feeling. The band had somehow passed me by until I saw them play a stunning set supporting Son of the Right Hand in Glad Cafe, so a huge debt of gratitude to them for introducing me to the band. When I saw them they were playing as a three piece, the addition of the string section on this song adds another layer of fragile grace and beauty to this already reflectively alluring song, the combination of the musicianship and the sublime melodies come together to make this a truly charmingly heartrending song.
Kicking things up several notches from Yama Rama it’s Cardiff based glam-punks Lithium Kicks with their double A-side single from which I Want Something I Don’t Care About is the A side (with Catch Me When I Fall the AA side). This is just as heartfelt as the Yama Rama track but dealt with in a fist in the air manner, packed with attitude filled defiance, hook laden riffs and plenty of “woah woah’s'”. The bands name probably gives a clue as to the nature and source of the lyrics of the song from fellow ginge, Ginge Knievel, and its refrain, “’cause we’re all the same inside, just fighting to stay alive…. broken tears and broken dreams, are keeping me alive”… I actually felt invigorated and ready to face the world after listening, I just need to puff my chest out and go… wish me luck.
There is a lot to be angry about in the world today and this part of February’s round up contains a number of protest songs about the state of the world and the rise of right, and the increasingly fascistic methods being used by governments. The first of these is from Dropkick Murphys in collaboration with Haywire and their single Citizen I.C.E. ( a new take on their song, Citizen C.I.A.), which should need no introduction or explanation to anyone who is aware of what is going on in the USA under the current governance by the GOP and it’s unhinged leader. The sub 90 second full throttle punk anthem doesn’t hold back on the target of it’s venom…indicating the desired requirements to be an I.C.E. Agent as “Power hungry scumbags apply today, come celebrate dictatorships and bolster the regime, while abusing helpless immigrants, a bully’s wet dream, you’ve joined the traitors’ ranks to play the hand of God in a dirtbag grifter’s kidnapping squad.”
While over on these shores the Bar Stool Preachers rail against bands who don’t take a stance against genocide, or friends who defend the perpetrators of mass killings on Pick a Side, criticising those who choose to blatantly ignore what has happened, and continues to happen despite the so-called ceasefire in Gaza, or make insipid cowardly comments about not taking sides or being too political. An anthem forthe oppressed, big brash and in your face with a huge singalong chorus, this is Bar Stool Preachers at their best.
We started this round up with some US based psychedelic shoegaze, so we’ll (nearly) finish with some closer to home energetic psychedelic fuzz-laden garage rock in the shape of Buzz the Scuzz from NE England’s The Velvet Tuxedo. Frontman Will Reid calls it: “Our drop-out anthem – two fingers up to conformity. It starts with that hypnotic drone and then erupts into something driving and defiant. It’s about breaking free from the conveyor-belt life we’re sold and choosing your own path really.”
From the purveyors of one of my top ten albums of 2025, Dead Pioneers, comes a new single in the shape of Nazi Teeth, joined by Stephanie Byrne of Cheap Perfume. The band have certainly not dialled down their rhetoric picking up from where Post American left off, if anything, they have dialled things up, railing against the rise of the right wing with racists and fascistic tendencies being witnessed around the world in these most dystopian of days. Gregg Deal doesn’t miss his target, making it plain for all to see and hear “I will gladly punch you in your white power face, make you feel my red power race” directing his ire at “nazis, fascists and incel boys” threatening to “turn down your racist noise.” Righteous anger aimed at those who won’t listen. As Stephanie Byrne sings as the song reaches its close “if violence is the only language they speak, it’s OK to punch nazi teeth“
You can find most of this month’s single on this handy companion TIDAL playlist…