Spotlight On... Bottle Rockets

Glasgow-based alt-rock outfit Bottle Rocket are vocalist Kenzi Murray, guitarist John Tamburrini, bassist Andrew Cummings and drummer Sam Rae. After winning a Scottish Alternative Music Award in 2023 and the title of BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year in 2024, 2025 was a somewhat quieter year for the four-piece, although a knockout turn at Brighton’s The Great Escape festival saw them bring a huge afternoon crowd to Horatio's with their cover of Fontaines D.C.’s I Love You sitting perfectly alongside their own songs, like the super catchy Limerence.

Last week, Bottle Rockets returned with father’s daughter, their first new music in over a year. An emotionally charged, dynamic alt-rock number, it signals the start of a new more mature chapter for the band and their songwriting. With their EP of the same name set to follow in May, we catch up with the band to find out more ahead of what's shaping up to be their busiest year yet.

You’ve had quite an exciting few years, winning a SAMA and being crowned BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year. How has life been since receiving these accolades?
It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. Since the awards we’ve had some amazing opportunities, playing TRNSMT and Reading and Leeds, closing Tenement Trail, supporting Twin Atlantic and touring across England on the road to The Great Escape. One of the biggest highlights was our first show abroad in Valencia, which felt like a huge moment.

The awards also gave us the push to really go all in. We’ve always been committed to the band, but that felt like the moment we decided to dedicate even more time. We all reduced our hours at work, rented a studio space and started setting aside proper days each week to write. Because of that we slowed down on releasing music for a while and focused on writing as much as we could. From the outside it probably looked quiet towards the end of last year, but behind the scenes we were building what eventually became this EP.

Being in a band is always a bit of a rollercoaster. There are highs and lows, but this year we’re planning to make up for that quieter period with more releases, more shows, and really pushing the live side of the band.

With the lead single from your forthcoming EP released last week, you say this marks the start of a new chapter. What inspired this new direction?
When we started writing the EP we wanted a clearer sense of identity and theme. Big, hook-driven choruses have always been part of our sound, but this time we wanted to explore that in a more mature way. Across the four tracks we experimented with different genres while still keeping the core Bottle Rockets sound.

The first single, father’s daughter, leans into heavier territory with big hooks and mixes cinematic indie rock with hazy shoegaze textures and Scottish alt-pop influences. The second single, Won’t Speak Again, goes somewhere darker. It’s built around heavier guitars and a tight bass and drum groove that creates a tense, cinematic atmosphere. It feels rhythmic and restrained, which was a really exciting direction for us to explore. Each track explores a slightly different side of our sound, but they’re all connected by the same emotional themes.

I’d love to know more about father’s daughter. What’s it about and who or what inspired it?
father’s daughter was a really cathartic song to write. Lyrically it explores coming to terms with past trauma while stepping into healthier relationships, navigating emotional territory that feels unfamiliar while still carrying parts of your past. In many ways it feels like a moment of growth for the band. It’s probably the first time we really leaned into that level of vulnerability in our writing. We briefly considered calling the song ‘falling in motion’, but father’s daughter felt more personal. The phrase reflects inherited traits and the complicated bond between a parent and child, which really captured the emotion behind the song.

And what about the rest of the EP? Is there a theme or something that connects the four songs?
The EP really revolves around themes of identity, expectation, intimacy and personal growth. A lot of the songs deal with that space between who you were in the past and who you are becoming now. father’s daughter was actually the first song in six months that fully captured the direction we wanted to move in. It has a big, heavy chorus but also quieter, intimate moments, and that balance became the blueprint for the rest of the EP. Each song explores a slightly different sonic space, but emotionally they all sit in the same world.

What other artists were you listening to while writing and recording the EP?
We were listening to a pretty mixed bag. The cinematic production of The 1975 influenced some of the scale of the record, while CHVRCHES brought shimmering alt-pop energy. On the more intimate side we were listening to Searows, whose songwriting feels very delicate and personal. We’re always trying to balance songs that feel big and expansive with ones that still leave room for emotion and personal storytelling.

You worked with producer Jamie Holmes on the record. What was that experience like?
All of our released music so far has been produced by Jamie, so working with him again felt natural. He understands the band really well and can take our ideas and push them further than we imagined. The studio with Jamie is open and relaxed, which makes a huge difference creatively. He loved the songs even in early demo stages, which gave us confidence in the direction we were heading. You can hear that collaboration across the EP – it feels bigger and more cinematic but still very true to us.

Beyond this release, what does the rest of the year look like for Bottle Rockets?
We’ve got a headline tour in the works with a few dates already announced: Birmingham at The Sunflower Lounge (18 Apr), London at Sebright Arms (8 May), Glasgow at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (30 May). After that we’ll continue touring throughout the year and release more music later in 2026. It’s shaping up to be our busiest year yet.

Finally, tell us a fun fact about a member of the band that might surprise our readers...
We always struggle with this question because we’re probably less interesting than people expect. One slightly chaotic band fact is that we almost never finish writing a song in one sitting. Most rehearsals start with one idea and end with three or four completely different songs half-finished because we bounce between ideas depending on the mood. Our demos folder is absolute chaos – there are a lot unfinished songs sitting in there right now.

---

father's daughter is out now; the EP of the same name will be released in May

Follow Bottle Rockets on Instagram @bottlerocketsofficial