Tag: Middle Class Guilt

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

Singles Round Up 2026 – March

May 12, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The singles round up for March has more than it’s fair share of excellent singles from emerging Scottish talent from alt-rock right through to Gaelic rap (yes, you read it right), with debut singles from the likes of Honey, Close Control, Sports Frock and Quality Control and cracking singles from Tanzana, bottle rockets, Martha May and the Mondays, Stratus, Verse Metrics, Bandit Country, Dubinski, Doss, Subterranean, Brontes, Grow Up, Pearling. Arran Hopkins, Conscious Pilot, Limonead, Gichard, Mantel, Big Crunch, and braes, with some more established Scottish acts like Middle Class Guilt, Carla J Easton, The Countess of Fife, The Girobabies and Broken Chanter joining the party.… Read the rest

Middle Class Guilt – Their King of Comedy – album launch gig – Nice ‘n’ Sleazy

May 9, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

There is a strange dichotomy that exists when I’m dealing with my mental health that means when I get overwhelmed with anxiety and depression, the first things that fall off the radar are the things that bring me joy, keep me grounded and give me a focus. I end up fixating all my energy on negativity, overthinking and becoming selfishly insular and uncommunicative, and I start to spiral and break before I realise what is going on. I’ve really struggled to keep on top of things for probably the last 2 years now, but with some support from therapy which, along the way, opened up some raw wounds but also allowed me to have some closure, I really believe that I’m starting to feel as if for the first time in a long time, I finally recognise who I am and can take back control again.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – February – Part 1

February 15, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

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.… Read the rest

Middle Class Guilt – The Committee – album review

February 5, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

A solo penny whistle introduces The Committee to the world before the rest of the band kick in, or should that be shuffle in, on Good Evening Shetland, musically a gloriously louche rambling style, while the song itself is a perfectly executed lesson in laidback rambling, both music and vocal coming together as one like the illicit coupling of The Pogues and Fat White Family with Mark E Smith watching surreptitiously from the sidelines.

The whole vibe of The Committee is one of organised chaos, a seeming feeling of casual nonchalance running through the arteries of the band, but don’t let this fool you, these songs have a bite like an XL bully, once the hypnotic rhythms get you they aren’t going to let go.… Read the rest

25 for ‘25

January 2, 2025 By neilho27@sky.com

I’ve still to finish several reviews for last year and finalise my best of 2024 lists, but here goes for a list, in no particular order, of 25 music related events, bands, gigs etc I’m looking forward to in 2025…

Tanzana – having witnessed them live for the first time in 2024 supporting Death Valley Girls alongside Junk Pups and being blown away by their performance, I’m looking forward to more from Tanzana including their debut single, Covet, released on 9th January.

Tanzana

Xtro Ghost – Rob and Suze from Diablofurs have been posting clips on socials of rehearsals for songs for their new project Xtro Ghost.… Read the rest

December Singles Round Up – Part 5 – Guided By Voices, The Cides, English Teacher, Onat Önol, Middle Class Guilt, Everyone Says Hi, Lightnin’ Truck, benefits

December 29, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

Guided by Voices – The Great Man

Probably one of the most productive bands in the planet seemingly releasing an album every time I turn around, whether in the guise of Guided By Voices or offshoot Cub Scout Bowling Pins. The Great Man comes from the bands 41st album The Universe released in February and is a comment on all the “great men” in world politics… ahem.

Guided By Voices

The Cides – The Rebel

Latest single from The Cides who have appeared in the roundup a few times. The song harks back to the old mantra in the late 70s that punk wasn’t a style of music but an attitude, with lyrics acknowledging that there is a “rebel inside me” and with a desire to make a difference…to take action against injustice.… Read the rest