Scottish New Music Round-up: September 2023

August was hectic, right? But there was lots of great new Scottish music to help weather the storm. Some of what we missed included Gates of Light II (Glasgow Edition) from Gates of Light, part two in their three-part album series on LNFG, as well as a four-track Eyes of Others remix EP. Singles-wise, we enjoyed new tunes from Humour, Paws, ID, Josephine Sillars, Nü Cross, Alex Amor, Carla J. Easton, Cörtne, Little Win, and Mike McKenzie and Haquin.

When it comes to this month's releases, it’s the busiest September we can remember. In this month's magazine, you’ll find reviews of releases from Glasgow singer-songwriter Ruby Gaines, and Edinburgh artist Kohla – there's a full interview with Kohla in this month's mag. Elsewhere on this very website, you’ll find a review of Rivers of Heresy, the debut album from Empire State Bastard, the new project from Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil.

On 22 September, Night School Records label boss Michael Kasparis releases his third album as Apostille, Prisoners of Love and Hate. Opening with a screeching squall before a Saturday Night-esque motorik thrum squints into view, for a while all that's missing is Whigfield’s iconic ‘dee dee na na na’, but it’s not long before Kasparis makes his own weekend dance haven known on Saturday Night, Still Breathing.

And this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to notable reference points. Recorded with Free Love’s Lewis Cook, Prisoners of Love and Hate’s nine tracks evoke everyone from Whigfield and Meatloaf to Brandon Flowers, Abba and N-Trance. If that makes you feel giddy, uncomfortable, or somewhere in-between, good, Kasparis has succeeded. “Every song I write I try to find that sweet spot of doing something new and maybe brave, sailing close to the cringe edge,” he says of his music. “If something doesn’t feel potentially embarrassing or uncomfortable then I don’t find it exciting.” Prisoners of Love and Hate is endearing, playfully derivative and a veritable buffet for those seeking a party in the most unexpected of places.

Apostille. Credit: Harrison Reid

With themes spanning womanhood, misogyny in the music industry and toxic relationships, there’s a real emotional strength and maturity in the way Lucia Fairfull has approached her debut album as Lucia & The Best Boys. With lines like ‘I have heard it all, but I won’t take no more’ and ‘I’ll show you what I’m made of’ (When You Dress Up), ‘If you can do it better without me, just go ahead’ (So Sweet I Could Die) and ‘I’m sorry to say that the best in you was the worst in me / I know I’ll be better when you’re not around’ (Haunt You Back), Fairfull stands strong and makes it known that she won’t stand for your bullshit anymore. Released on 29 September via Communion, Burning Castles is a stunning step forward for an artist who sounds confident, powerful and graceful in equal measure. This is big, singalong, elegant, emotional pop at its finest.

Arriving on the same day is Tamara Schlesinger’s impressive new album as MALKA, Anatomy of Sight. Written, recorded and produced entirely on her own, it’s the fullest soundscape we’ve heard from the Glasgow-based musician, producer and founder of songwriting collective Hen Hoose, with Schlesinger sounding more assured than ever in who she is as an artist. Filled with positive affirmations, MALKA’s catchy singalong choruses and signature poptimism are still very much present. With lots of rich textural layering in the music paired with deeply personal subject matters, it’s a record that still somehow manages to bounce with life, its complex electronic backbone bubbling, glitchy and ecstatically elastic.

‘Everybody okay? All set’ are the words spoken by Rachel Sermanni at the top of her latest album Dreamer Awake (15 Sep). The warm and caring nature of this opening sentiment sets the tone for an album that envelops you with an immediate intimacy hard to capture on record. Recorded live to tape, at its heart Dreamer Awake is a remarkably rich folk record with a tantalising mix of upbeat bops and more stripped-back affairs. Sermanni’s voice is the star here, at times powerfully commanding, while at others strikingly vulnerable.

On 1 September Roddy Woomble digitally releases his eponymous electronic-focused debut album as Almost Nothing, in tandem launching a beaut of a journal with our pals at GoldFlakePaint, while neverfine release their Do Everything, Feel Nothing EP. The following week, on 8 September Monorail launch The Glasgow School, a brand new series documenting Glasgow's historic music scene, with the first release in the series The Way of the Vaselines, available on vinyl for the first time.

Elsewhere, Teenage Fanclub are back with Nothing Lasts Forever (22 Sep), indie-rock four-piece Neon Waltz release Honey Now (1 Sep), Protection, a project formed of Scott Paterson and CHVRCHES’ Iain Cook, release SEEDS II (1 Sep), and Sulka releases his latest album, Distractions (29 Sep). There are also singles from Lauren Mayberry (Are You Awake?, 1 Sep), Blush Club (Birthday Hat, 1 Sep), Saint Sappho (You Did This, 8 Sep), Starsky-Rae (Sea Monster, 8 Sep), ASTER YVS (Crimson, 8 Sep), sarya (only girl (ft. Birdfish), 10 Sep) and Bee Asha (Shy Guy, 15 Sep).