Scottish New Music Round-up: August 2023

An assortment of Scottish artists were hard at work while we were queuing outside Cineworld in our Barbie pinks, turning out a backlog of bops to keep the existential dread of the A-bomb at bay. For singles we missed in July, check out Disco Mary ft. Nova (The Once & Future Me), Kohla (One and Only), Nati Dreddd (Stay), Berta Kennedy & Man of Moon (Weigh Me Down), LECKI LECKI (Grow Your Girlfriend), Blair Davie (Found My Person), Julia’s Bureau (Island), Rosie H Sullivan (Fragments), SILVI (Possessed), Raveloe (Rustle In the Leaves), and the psychedelic debut single from Lost Map supergroup Lost Map Presents Weird Wave (Astral Difficulties / Weird Wave). For longer listens, seek out the debut album Music For People We Like by Machine Speak, or Hyperreal, the latest dance-fueled EP from Fourth Daughter.

Start August right with the full tank that is Water Machine, whose debut EP drops on the 4th via Upset the Rhythm. Raw Liquid Power is named after the band's work ethic; grassroots, hardcore, absurdist and anti-authoritarian. The EP opens with a sketchy, droning synthesiser, before the piecemeal punk-rock riffs that give RLP its attitude kick in. With delinquent delight, Water Machine chant 'Don't be late, hydrate!', showing that rules are for fools, but pools are cool. Other stylish subversions involve songs about stray cats – the whole EP is wonderfully weird. Dehydration and wayward pets are rare topics to encounter in punk records, but it rounds off with a middle finger to the privatised transport companies that profit off of subpar services in the magnificently titled Bussy. I’m never on time either, but Water Machine knows exactly who’s to blame for that.

On the same day, new Glasgow producer Sulci emerges with Before the Echo via Glasgow label Bricolage. After an early-age diagnosis of tinnitus and partial deafness, Sulci sought solace in sounds of her own creation, composing techno from her bedroom that paired syncopated beats with a fuzzy, muddled atmosphere. The soundscapes on this record are immersive, ethereal, and wholly unique. Her layered vocals are abstract, almost occluded by the cosmic ambience that gives this album its setting of a stranger world – but her voice is intertwined with the elaborate electronica, and the result makes for an enthralling introduction to her career.

On the 18th, several interesting releases arrive, starting with art-rock electro-opera Hope, by Edinburgh-based Vilde. The themes of transience and impermanence, which come from the fact that Vilde has moved countries eight times in the last 12 years, are characterised by nebulous drum loops, erratic synth beats, and Vilde’s falsetto dancing over the composition. Beautiful Daydream is Liv Dawn’s self-released love letter to Country with a capital C. Lyrics of pastoral euphoria and rustic love are bolstered up by full-body, guitar-and-drums instrumentals. It’s the kind of music you’d like playing when your hair blows in the wind, preferably while you happened to be riding a horse at the same time. Also on the 18th, contemporary classical composer Kim Moore releases A Song We Destroy to Spin Again via Blackford Hill, a 23-minute monolith of eerie string solos, analogue tape loops, and dark, disquieting orchestration, performed by award-winning chamber duo GAIA – violinist Katrina Lee and cellist Alice Allen.

Finn Brodie

The following week, Magnus Kramers’ Waking Mind EP (25 Aug) uses complex instrumentation and editing to present living, breathing rains, percussion intermingling with distant birdsong, and an easy-listening ecosystem reminiscent of Ibiza’s Cafe del Mar. On the same day, Finn Brodie releases his Home Run EP, giving the summer a suitable send-off.

We first encountered Brodie’s poetic lyricism back in March, when the opening track Birthright made for a capturing single. Over the full record, the collaborative efforts of Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan uplift Brodie’s heart-rending imagery, achieving a production value superior to other bedroom indie albums while preserving a pared-down authenticity, and letting the introspective songwriting shine through. Brodie paints a world of dysfunctional relationships and harsh, east-coast landscapes, where you grow up watching people disappear into the snow. Brodie started writing at 15, and though he’s moved to Glasgow and come out as trans during his 20s, his evocative tunes make you empathise with a long-gone adolescence and vulnerability. Capturing the complex kind of homeland that you recognise, the kind that doesn’t recognise you back, this eulogistic EP makes for a beautiful, bittersweet entry into autumn.

Other albums worth checking out include the eponymous debut by Snows of Yesteryear (4 Aug), Soft Riot's tenth album No. (25 Aug), and Learning How to Love and Let Go, the most recent release by Aberdonian alt-rockers The XCERTS. For singles, there’s No Gravity by Gefahrgeist & PINLIGHT (11 Aug), Imaginary Friends by neverfine (11 Aug), and Brace by Dutch Wine (9 Aug).