Our inbox is pummelled daily with new music, but it’s a welcome pummelling; less a Mike Tyson-style slobberknocker, and more an aural feather tickling around the tympanic membrane until our ears are suitably tenderised. What are we talking about? Why, our latest round-up of fresh releases from the Scottish music scene (obviously). This month we’ve dug up gorgeous folk balladry, pugnacious rock, dancefloor adjacent electronica, and plenty more. 

Faith Eliott
'an ode of unrequited love from a hagfish to a giant isopod'

Two sea creatures are trying to make a connection in this winding ballad from Eliott’s forthcoming album Dryas, coming out on Friday 30 May on Lost Map Records. It’s a fantastical and beautiful work that nonetheless feels grounded. ‘Often, I use songwriting as a vehicle to research something I’m interested in,’ claimed Eliott when discussing the album. ‘A finished song will present itself as a mini-exhibition of the vocabulary and ideas I gathered while processing new information.’

Gallus 
‘Just Desserts’

These Glasgow lads are continuing their knack for rocket-fuelled mosh pit starters, taken from new EP Cool To Drive. Vocalist Barry Dolan said of the song: ‘The title is taken from a fictitious band Eamon used to tweet about, giving updates about the various reasons they’ve had to pull out of all-day festivals and zine launch parties etc; a kind of aspirational, pretentious post-punk band whose failings were usually caused by their highly middle-class problems.’

Goodnight Louisa 
‘Jennifer Aniston’

Smashing funk and synth together in a large hadron collider of attitude, the return of Goodnight Louisa (alter ego of Louise McCraw) is more than welcome based on the strength of this single. It’s a teaser to her forthcoming second album Marathon, due for release on Friday 4 July. 

LVRA & Soda Plains 
‘Hard Decisions’

LVRA (who won the SAY Award Sound Of Young Scotland Award in 2021) teamed up with Soda Plains in Berlin to produce this lurching, unpredictable collection of left-turns and stuttering rhythms. It’s part of their experimental EP Fortress, out now. 

The Secret Goldfish
‘Holiday Hymn’ 

Taken from the band’s forthcoming album Empty Holster (their fourth in 30 years), there’s an unabashed celebration of joy in this Vic Goddard cover. The full album also features covers of songs by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, Port Sulphur and The Beach Boys. 

The Joshua Hotel 
‘Easy Feeling’ 

Here's a woozy dose of dream pop from Inverness’ The Joshua Hotel. ‘It’s a song about escape through intimacy,’ states band leader Joshua McKenzie. ‘It captures the rush of good chemistry forming with another person; the kind of chemistry strong enough to insulate you from past regrets, existential fears and the complex demands of the modern world. An easy, dreamy, sexy feeling.’ The band will release their debut album Rapture Party in September on Last Night From Glasgow. 

Morgan Szymanski & Tommy Perman 
‘Harmonic Rain’

In this first single from two well-established instrumentalists, the climate crisis is tackled head-on. According to Perman: 'The track’s title has a dual meaning, referencing the fast arpeggios I created from Morgan’s guitar harmonics (which I think sound like gentle raindrops) and an ecosystem that is working in harmony. When working on this piece, I was thinking about the increasing flooding problems we’re seeing across the world. We’ve destroyed nature’s flood defences through deforestation, building on floodplains and concreting over the earth. In a healthy ecosystem, rainwater is collected by plants and filters through the soil to replenish aquifers.’ The full album, Songs For The Mist Forest, will be out on Blackford Hill records this summer.

Maranta 
‘Holy Night’ 

Taken from their upcoming album Day Long Dream, this dancefloor filler from the Edinburgh duo is packed with skittering sounds and moody electronica. The band will be launching the album at Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, on Friday 16 May. 

Pistol Daisys 
‘Calling Your Name’ 

Releasing a few days after this article is published (Wednesday 30 April, to be exact), rising stars Pistol Daisys will release another song in indie sleaze revivalist mould. ‘It just goes to show that it's an ever-changing world,’ says bandleader Belly of the single, ‘What appears to be one thing on the surface doesn't show you the whole truth. “Calling Your Name” is for those who want to keep an open mind… and maybe get a snog off the right guy.’

Acolyte 

The Edinburgh band, led by poet and spoken word performer Iona Lee, will release a new single from their upcoming EP The Blue Dark. The twist? It’ll be available to Lost Map Records’ Post Map Club members on Thursday 1 May. You’ll have to wait until then to taste what they’ve been cooking.

Swim School 
‘Alone With You’

Continuing their knack for merging grunge, shoegaze and power pop (think Wolf Alice meets Lush), propulsion is the keyword for this Edinburgh trio’s latest release. It’s the first snippet from their long-awaited self-titled debut album, coming out on Friday 3 October on LAB Records. 

The Froobz 
‘Manchild’

Let’s close this article with some grungy DIY punk revelling in its 1970s influences. Lo-fi energy abounds from its hook, and its lyrics about a petulant ‘undateable’ man are packed with punchy wit. Simple, catchy and great fun. 

Want your new release featured in Singles In Your Area? Then send us your tunes to [email protected]; main picture: Flannery O'Kafka.