Scottish New Music Round-up: August 2025

In July, drag queen turned pop artist ALICE kept things cool at the top of the month with her latest single ICE CREAM, while Glasgow art-punks Dancer released Happy Halloween earlier than you can buy skeleton onesies in the supermarkets. Edinburgh pop artist and producer SHEARS stuck to the same brief with her latest single BONES, announcing that her debut album would arrive in October. 

Also announcing their debut album was Glasgow supergroup Former Champ, releasing new single porcelain, a Thin Lizzy-indebted power-pop cut linked to memories of a childhood growing up in Ireland at the tail end of the Troubles. Iona Zajac confronted teenage trauma on her incredibly powerful new single Anton, and Cowboy Hunters lightened the load with their frantic reimagining of Princess Superstar’s Perfect (Exceeder). July also saw the return of Idlewild, releasing a pair of singles ahead of an album due in the autumn. Franz Ferdinand released Some Remixes of Hooked, and there were new singles from Alice Faye, Rahul.mp3, PVC, Post Coal Prom Queen and Moody Moody.

When it comes to August releases, Humour’s debut album Learning Greek arrives via So Young Records on the 8th. Before the opening song Neighbours hits even the five-second mark, it’s nought to 100 for singer Andreas Christodoulidis who arrives unhinged and squawking from the get-go. Showing an excellent evolution of the Glasgow band from their first two EPs to now, everything on Learning Greek is turned up to 11, with Christodoulidis’ anguish more pronounced, while softer moments feel more melodic and considered than before, and that’s true as much from a vocal POV as it is in the overall instrumentation of the record.

In the wrong hands, a song rooted in paranoia like Neighbours could have sounded like a difficult clashing of influences, but in Humour’s capable hands, it feels exceptionally cohesive, as it dips in and out of exacerbation and reasoning. The off-kilter Plagiarist follows a similar shape; starting like a classic indie anthem, it’s not long before discordant guitars unexpectedly jar and knock you sideways before propping you back up with melodies that seem effortless, before knocking you sideways again, and so on and so forth. With the record largely inspired by Christodoulidis exploring his Greek identity, that push and pull of hard and soft, melody and dissonance is at play throughout. Pick up a copy of our August issue to learn more.

If you’re after something more soothing, on 22 August seek out Strange fields by Dan Brown under his Tarn alias. A stunning album of electronic/piano music, opener Murmurs builds slowly, beautifully introducing a record, which, despite being instrumental, carries an incredible amount of emotional heft. It’s in the wheezing and constantly bending hum of In dreams we_re asleep_, it's in the elegiac and lilting melodies of Memories fade, the uneven plod of Parklife. It's in the bright and meandering hopeful electronic motifs on Tangents, and in the ambient aura of Echoes of a friend. Strange fields is a record of precise nuance as Brown tracks his journey from the demise of a long-term relationship through feelings of grief and loss, by its end finding growth in letting go and harnessing the joy he’s found in community.

Also on 22 August, Fifer James Yorkston swings in with Songs for Nina and Johanna. His 16th album on Domino, this latest collaborative album sees him working alongside two renowned Swedish artists – The Cardigans’ Nina Persson and First Aid Kit’s Johanna Söderberg. Described as 'a meditation on family, love, and parenthood,’ the way Yorkston’s unique timbre mingles with the two gives off the warm glow of hanging out with friends, singing songs in the backroom of a cosy pub, or in a village hall at dusk, the music illuminated by twinkling fairy lights. Taking it in turns to duet with Persson and Söderberg, there’s a rare intimacy captured across the record where it feels like they’re genuinely singing together and to one another – it’s effortless, warming and feels genuinely joyful.

Back in Glasgow at the top of the month, on the 1st Martha May & The Mondays open their Zeroes & Villains EP with a belch. “Zeroes & Villains is not here to make you feel comfortable. It's a bratty love letter to the gutter,” says frontwoman Martha May McKay. “This EP isn't polished – it's scratched, scribbled on, spat out, and somehow shines. It captures the raw emotion of exactly where I was when I wrote it.” It’s true, Zeroes & Villains does shine, the opening burp not at all indicative of the music found across its four tracks which sees Martha May & The Mondays stitching together their own brand of guitar music with glitter-imbued thread twisting together folk, grunge, rock, blues, punk and more; occasional hues of Garbage's Shirley Manson peeking through from time to time.

The month also brings with it a flurry of singles with new music from Starsky-Rae (That’s the Way It Goes), Ask Alice (Curtains Down), Plasticine (Hopeless In Love), Esther’s Wife (Buckshot), Florence Jack (Coffee Stain), Róisín McCarney (Meet Me in Montauk), Julia’s Bureau (Astronaut in Comparison), Bröntes (Cognitive Dissonance) and Selkie (Hours) amongst others.

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Listen to our New Scottish Music playlist on Spotify, updated every Friday, and check out our new Music Now podcast – listen to our chats with Malin Lewis and Alice Faye