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. Thankfully Glasgow came out in numbers at the weekend to stand against the ignorant Nazi fascists.
2026 has been a bumper year so far for singles from emerging Scottish bands and the new single rom Puppy Teeth adds to that burgeoning list. The first single to be lifted from their punny debut EP, Teething, Melatonin is an hazy fuzz of swirling electric and acoustic guitars atop a steady beat, with the icing on the cake being the dreamy diaphanous vocals that intimate a spiralling desperation for sleep.
The Martial Arts Seeing Double tells a tale of being stuck indoors due to mental health struggles and watching the world going by while cursing the impact anxiety and depression have on day to day life, “examine my life and all my tedious troubles” sings Paul to a soundtrack that follows a familiar style for the band, with an East Coast sunshine sound tinged with a pang of regret and melancholia like The Beach Boys meets Teenage Fanclub jamming with Elvis Costello.
There is no holding back from Split Dogs on Be Somebody, an anthem of positivity and solidarity, soundtracked by a high octane pedal to the metal punked up boogie woogie blues.
The follow up to Dog, Everyone’s a Winner is the second (and title) track from the new Grandmas House EP coming in August. The instantly recognisable gravelly vocal of Yasmin Berndt gives a gritty edge to their sound, with the hushed almost whispered co-vocals from Poppy Dodgson a perfect foil, their vocal interplay giving the single a distinct Yin and Yang feel.
Another one that slipped through the net from March…The Bloodletter is the stunning debut single from Glasgow alternative rock band Modern Ruin. Languid guitars form the dreamily pensive intro before a crash of drums welcomes the laid back vocal that demonstrates what, on the face of it, feels like a calm serenity. This serenity has a tense edge though, which builds in its forcefulness through the repeated refrain of “exsanguinate.” By the time the second and ultimately third time through this refrain, things have tipped over the edge and that tense edge explodes into a tumultuous crescendo, a gloriously cacophonous noise and a vocal that screams with a calamitous torment.
5AM from Shark School kicks off with a vociferous crunching power that doesn’t let up for it’s entirety, if anything, the pent up fury only gets more fervent as the song pulses to a furious climax.
He Says, She Says is the third single from the remarkable heavyskint. While dialling back slightly on the mercurial menace of their previous singles, there is still a moody undercurrent which is solidified by the bleak nature of the songs themes. Frontman Jacob has one of the most powerful vocals on the scene just now, a range that can move from a low rasping growl to a powerful gravelly blues with ease and, like on this single, onto a soaring soulful brogue. The agitated guitar lines with some sweet bluesy riffs provide a perfect canvas for Jacob’s vocals to swell and surge with their intense edifying power. This song certainly cements their place as “ones to watch.” I would urge you to get to see the band live at the earliest opportunity, only then will you fully appreciate the palpable energy that their live show creates.
For the final single release ahead of their new album Garage Glamour, The Claudettes chose to cover Whirlpool from the incomparable Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson, a woman with a remarkable back catalogue of music. While respecting the original, the band make the song their own by indelibly marking it with their signature Chicago blues sound, showcasing Rachel Williams prepossessing vocal with her singing the first couple of lines acapella, as expected Johnny Iguana provides his much lauded and sought after highly accomplished blues piano riffing. The album is a joy…
Continuing a kind of retro rock n roll theme to many of the songs in this round up comes Season of the Weasel the latest rabble rousing single from the Night Caller with Danny demonstrating his now familiar deeply resonant Southern drawl like a radge Elvis fae Leith, as the band create a furious paced high energy 50s rock n roll inspired sonic boom to complete this debauched thrill ride. There needs to be a gig that has Night Caller, heavyskint and the next band in this round up on the same bill…
And they keep coming… Do it Right is the first single in this roundup to feature one of the original members of famous Glasgow Rockabilly buskers The Best Bad Influence, with Nyall stepping out from behind the drum kits of the likes of The Bleeders and Corinne to be the frontman for Ink Drinker. This is the bands second single following up their brilliant September 2025 debut I’m Looking. It goes without saying he should have stepped out from behind that kit long before now, never having been the shy and retiring type as anyone who has ever seen home perform would attest. A wee side story… the guys from Thee Scarecrows aka were transfixed by his drumming when The Bleeders supported them in Audio, they couldn’t take their eyes off him for the whole set… Anyway, Do It Right is a joyously stunning punky garage blues belter of a song, but the pièce de résistance is Nyall’s gruff guttural bluesy vocal, a voice that sounds like it comes from another time and place, and which belies his still tender years. His formative years with The Best Bad Influence alongside Jett and Alexander have stood him in great stead for this… and what about Alexander?…
The debut single from Point Pleasant, I Recall, has me recalling the 1980s, with the Geordie fronted Glasgow based indie band creating a sound that wouldn’t sound out of place rubbing shoulders with bands on the legendary C86 compilation, and bands like Jasmine Minks and The Muldoons. The single has an epic widescreen feel packed with passion and a heartfelt delivery, that also maybe channels the spirit of Frankie & the Heartstrings, but the maybe that’s just me overthinking due to the origins of the two bands vocalists…
Another collaboration from the forthcoming new Lucia and the Best Boys album, Picking Petals, this time teaming up with Abigail Morris of The Last Dinner Party and in doing so creating yet another exuberant and emotionally high energy banger in the shape of the eminently danceable elation of Big Romance.
Ayrshire’s Mixed Signals new single Ghosts has at the heart of it’s lyric a theme of being stuck in a rut in a small town and a yearning to break free of the ghosts of the past. To reflect the tone of the vocals, the music switches between a sense of reflective melancholy and a vigorous driving rhythm with a feel of determination to move on and not be held back by the Ghosts of the songs title.
… so I mentioned The Best Bad Infleunce earlier and their guitar player/vocalist Alexander and as if by magic… I’m featuring two singles from The Latest Flames in this part of the round up as, once again, the algorithms on social media seemed to decide that I don’t need to know they’d released their first couple of singles from their forthcoming EP in March…the first single they released in March as Nobodybettabeinterruptingme (When I’m Talking ‘Bout My Baby) was their debut single with Fallout coming in May and another song Carol dropping in between. This sweet-sounding duo features the aforementioned Alexander, alongside Lola who as a band have been plying their wares for a while now building up a reputation on the live circuit performing a spirited blend of country, rockabilly and blues, before they released their singles. Both of the singles here feature enchanting harmonies and a dazzling vocal interplay between Lola and Alexander. With Nobodybetta… they have created an addictively toe-tapping joyous rockabilly ace in the pack while the more wistful Fallout leans more towards their country side.