Singles In Your Area: August 2026
In our latest round-up of top Scottish singles, we’re chatting Maniatrix, Selkie, Ellijai and more
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We’ve got quite the musical smorgasbord in this month’s singles round-up, from avant-garde electronica to ambient pop and a rollicking rock tune about skinny boyfriends.
If you’ve got a song you’d like to see featured in Singles In Your Area, share it with us at [email protected].
Maniatrix
‘Qué Es Más Macho’
Taking its title from Laurie Anderson’s ‘Smoke Rings’, this stuttering, sinister electronica asks what it means to be macho, evoking an undercurrent of horror movie dread. Expect plenty more where that came from in Maniatrix's latest album Body Build Rate, which is set to release Friday 25 September via Edinburgh label Px4M. A launch party for the album will take place at People's Leisure Club, Edinburgh, on Saturday 3 October.
The Ninth Wave
‘Bitumen’
A band that looked like it was about to hit the stratosphere four years ago, The Ninth Wave put themselves on indefinite hiatus four years ago, leaving a cloud ‘what could have beens’ in their wake. It is, then, a delight to see the Glasgow four-piece return with a stripped-back sound and a record deal with Rock Action. It’s a strong return, replacing their Depeche Mode-ish flair with a swaggering beat, a soaring chorus, and vocals from Haydn Park-Patterson that emanate both a world-weariness and a cautious optimism.
Selkie
‘Dream Wheels’
Not quite a single, but well worth highlighting either way, this lead track from ambient popster Selkie’s debut EP inWaves is, in a word, majestic. With Selkie’s ethereal singing, its combination of ambient, trip hop and jazz makes it not dissimilar to The Smile. A transportive experience.
Eilir Pierce
‘Do-List’
A scrappy piano progression and drum machine accompanies Eilir Pierce’s droll sprechgesang about the tension between wanting it all and wanting to relax. It’s the first single from Pierce’s Half-Time, ‘a synth-pop musical about moving to a new city and attempting to become a pop star in middle age’ which features collaborations from Gwenno and Aidan Moffat.
Ellijai
‘Skinny Boyfriend’
A fun bit of pop with a synthy energy, this comes from 18-year-old Ellijai Macfarlane. There’s some funny lyrics in the mix (‘he may look half-dead but he’s a rock and roll superstar’ is a highlight) and an unabashed lustiness. Hopefully Ellijai continues to develop her rock strut.
Gurry Wurry
‘Television Loveseat ‘
We’ve featured Gurry Wurry plenty of times in this round-up, not least because his effervescent sense of rock continues to impress. With a jagged guitar hook and an unpredictable structure, there’s a lot to like on his latest.
Hound
‘Pick Yourself’
Hound seem to have found a way to sound both completely fresh and hazily nostalgic for the golden years of slacker rock. ‘Pick Yourself’ has the bratty insouciance of early Idlewild with the hooky cool of Pavement. There’s an infectiousness to this Glasgow band’s sunny outlook. Their album, Another Lifetime In A Different Country, is out Friday 18 September.
Both Hands
‘Ladder’
An epic quality lies beneath the twinkling electronics of ‘Ladder’, helped by an understated sense of urgency in Hailey Beavis’ vocals. Propelled by a buoyancy that recalls Sylan Esso, it’s a firework display of joy with an irresistible build.
Liv Dawn
‘Running In The End’
A full-hearted hope emanates from Liv Dawn, a Loch Lomond-based songwriter with a real eye for lyricism. According to Dawn: ‘It is one of the most honest songs I have written and reflects the emotional highs and lows of chasing something you love.’