Part two of an already strong month for new singles and another smorgasbord of songs from bands old and new from harmonious folky melodies from Amy Duncan and M. John Henry through to in your face punk from Dropkick Murphys and Gogol Bordello… Part three still to come with some more outstanding songs…
First up in this part is Ghost Reverb, the lead track from the Post Punk No Wave EP from Novelistme the alterego of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Price and in which he leaves behind standard verse chorus verse song structures to create a one take improvisational commentary on life, it’s often a bleak and uneasy listen.
A Cautionary Undertow from Amy Duncan comes from the album Gartnavel, a joint project between David Paton and Amy documenting David’s time in Gartnavel Hospital’s psychiatric ward. n a parallel with Novelistme, Amy recorded the vocal and instruments together which “…captured the songs as true performances, and I feel the record is all the more special for it. The vocals sit at the forefront, while the sparse instrumentation creates space for David’s lyrics to shine.” A comment I can wholeheartedly agree with, as A Cautionary Undertow really grabs your attention, it’s sparse arrangement and vocal harmonies really pack a punch.
Originally the voice of Swansway Maggie De Monde’s most famous single is the world wide smash No Memory with Scarlet Fantastic, and it is under that name that Maggie is releasing her latest work on Last Night From Glasgow. This part of the singles round up seems to have begun in melancholy mood, and Cowboy Guardian Angel continues in that vein, the lyrics tinged with a sense of loss and sadness. The single follows last years cover of Bowie’s Time and comes from the forthcoming album From Montreal to Rotherham due in March.
Moving on from all the melancholy, Keep on Telling Me Why is the latest single to come from The Gold Needles stellar new album Mood Elevator, and despite the nature of the lyrics, the driving power pop melodies of the single have the ability to do just what the album title suggests, another gem from Big Stir Records.
We bring the mood back down again with founder and front man of acclaimed Scottish band De Rosa, M. John Henry, and the single Hattonrigg Pit Disaster. The single is a reworked version of the song from De Rosa’s 2016 album Mend, recounting the real life disaster in Lanarkshire in 1910 and somehow Henry makes the song even more touching and poignant than the band did 10 years ago lest we forget the sacrifices many of our forebears made to live a simple life. The line “we’ve come a long way since then” ringing true but also reflecting on how much we haven’t moved on with the gap between the haves and have nots ever widening. Hattonrigg Pit Disaster appears on M John Henry’s new album out now Early Songs, Of Late which features “..reworked and newly performed versions of classic songs and unreleased material.
The start of January saw the release of Dry Cleaning‘s latest album, their third, Secret Love from which this single Joy comes. In a world that seems to be crashing down around our ears, there is air of upbeat positivity to the song and the vocal delivery of lyrics “pieced together from adverts in Virginia Tech University’s ‘History Of Food And Drink’ archive” and just try not to have a huge grin on your face when you watch the video.
Unlike the football team from their hometown the band Dictator are on the up and up and their new single Screwball Scramble can only help with that trajectory. I last saw the band in Stirling supporting Young Fathers and Self Esteem, and despite the early hour of their appearance and sparse crowd, they put everything into the performance and had all the early comers dancing. Following on from the success of Rubik’s Cube (there’s a them in these song titles ?!?) Screwball Scramble is another of those infectious danceable floor filler indie anthems.
I’ve always loved Dropkick Murphys, but in recent years have come to love them even more with albums like This Machine Still Kills Fascists & Okemah Rising taking unused words and songs from Woody Guthrie and recording them. The band show on The Big Man that they still know how to have a laugh and a good time and has the band doing what they do best with huge riffs and a big singalong anthem paying tribute to the Pennywise frontman Fletcher Dragge.
Life Slime is the title of the forthcoming album from Pictish Trail due to be with us in April. Sorry Eyes is a laid back dreamy electro-pop single where Johnny deliberately distorts the chorus of Your Sorry Eyes to make it, well you work it out… If you want to hear Life Slime before its officiial release date there is a “fan first Primordial Blue in Pink Goo” vinyl version available now from Lost Map or direct from Johnny himself.
The Darts US are best seen in their natural environment, a dark and dingy venue where they unleash their boisterously wicked garage rock upon an unsuspecting public in a display of wanton depravity, as you listen to Midnight Creep it’s hard not to think of Nicole wrestling her keyboard/synth to the ground, roll on some live dates in 2026.
The original Gypsy Punks Gogol Bordello return this year with a new album whose title channels the spirit of Punk year zero in it’s Sex Pistols inspired title We Mean It Man, the full throttle charge of Ignition adds to earlier tasters Hater Liquidator and the album’s title track to whet the appetite for what sounds like the promise of one of the band’s best albums to date.
Sonic Youth legend Kim Gordon recently announced her third solo album, Play Me from which the pulsating new single Not Today comes, and she seems to have found a whole new sound, yes there are still crunching guitars, but her vocal is in a whole different vein to that of The Collective.
Drummer and one third of the exquisite harmonies from the very brilliant Brenda, Apsi has quietly released her debut solo single recently with an understated post on social media, the resultant effort is this highly addictive slice of synth pop Not Your Boyfriend.
Part 3 of the singles round up for January coming soon, including the single which is my single of the month for January… All the songs in the January round up are featured in this handy Tidal playlist…