Scottish New Music Round-Up: August 2026

Rained out, but somehow roasting hot at the same time? Sounds like a Scottish summer. In the torrent of July tunes we missed out on some excellent singles by Dovetailed (Kethers Street), Theo Bleak (We Will Not Be Lovers), Rain Corner (Like That), Arab Strap (Glamour Magick), Gallus (Sick Bastards), Hound (Can’t Sue Yourself), Walt Disco (Lies), corto.alto (IJUSTDONTKNOW), Teenage Fanclub (Day In the Sun), Peter Cat (Innocent Driver), Goodnight Louisa (Leith Forever), and redolent (ok wow). CUZINO remixed Pleasure Trail's Alone at Night, Both Hands remixed Pictish Trail's Hold It, Fergus McCreadie dropped his album The Shieling and ButhoTheWarrior released the funky two-track EP Moody Dub, just at the very end of July.

One of the most striking albums emerging this August is Echo in the Dark (KIN-TU, 28 Aug), the collaboration between British-Finnish artist Hanna Tuulikki and Edinburgh-born experimental musician Tommy Perman. Tuulikki’s projects often involve sampling and mimicking birdsong, incorporating ambient sounds from Glasgow’s green spaces and the flight paths of migratory birds, beatmaking brilliant harmonies while exploring our relationship with the natural world. Echo in the Dark is just as green, if a little more nocturnal, with each of its eight tracks built from a different species of British bat. The origin of this project was in Tuulikki’s 2022 rave of the same name, which first saw the artist using a technology called heterodyne bat detectors to translate the (usually) imperceptible language of echolocation into audible sound.

Perman and Tuulikki’s record flits between flavours of dance music. Falling Free, based on the noises of the Nathusius’ Pipistrelle, uses its clangs and chimes to create an industrial texture, while In the Air, which samples the Serotine Bat, is a more avant-synth track, through which Tuulikki’s whispering vocals disperse. The artists incorporate buzzes, clicks and cries into an irresistible electronic symphony, pushing echolocation beyond its use as a navigational tool for our flying friends and into a new role, steering bodies across the dancefloor.

If the end of the month is too long a wait to take flight, a week before sees the release of Alex Amor’s Heavenly Bodies (VERO Music, 21 Aug), a collection of indie-pop ballads that’ll make for a cosmic listening experience. After penning the sugary but bittersweet confessions of 2023’s Super Sonic EP, the Scottish singer-songwriter returned to Glasgow to find inspiration away from the madness of the London music scene. The sliding guitar of opener As Above, So Below lifts us up into the introspective themes of the record, Meet on the Moon is a farewell letter to a late lover, and Inside is an exploration of grief and the struggles of family addiction. Astrology, alchemy and other forms of mysticism shape the identity of this debut album, and Amor’s highly personal songwriting makes for a revelatory introduction to this artist.

The Great Pleasure is Dead, Long Live the Great Pleasure (12 Aug) is a debut we’ve been anticipating since Marc Molloy and Gillian Christie, aka The Great Pleasure, were selling out shows at Òran Mór and Stereo last year. This jetsetting duo have charted their album with stories and influences from their travels as a genre-bending blueprint. Scratchy, bluesy ballads like Swamp Folk, and cinematic indie-rock hits like S.A.A.A.D Forever, make for a multifaceted record, almost as varied as the lineup for their one-day launch festival on 22 August – Kai Reesu, DOSS, and a new project from Tom McGuire are expected to appear at GUU.

Fife singer-songwriter Jacob Alon has had resounding success since we spoke to them ahead of their 2025 album. In Limerence received nominations for last year's SAY Award and Mercury Prize, and now the songbook of folk ballads can be enjoyed through new ears in Live From the Roundhouse (Island Records, 14 Aug). This live recording of Alon’s performance at the eponymous London venue shows the impact of their artistry, as delicate compositions of falsetto vocals and a fingerpicking acoustic playstyle manage to hold such weight over a crowd of rapt listeners. All of In Limerence is on display, as well as a must-listen cover of Nirvana’s All Apologies.

Speaking of Alon, Nani Porenta, a frequent member of their live band, releases EP Like Clockwork on 5 August. Recorded with Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan, Like Clockwork builds with orchestral strings and electric guitar, but drops into sudden silence, or circles back to earlier tracks, speaking to the record’s themes of interiority and reflection. Other EPs this month include Everything Is Content, Baby! (7 Aug), a summery, roots rock release by Edinburgh artist Oystercatcher, and Dundee indie rockers The Mirror Trap are back for the first time in a decade with EP All That Remains Is a Ghost (14 Aug).

We're also expecting the inWaves EP from Selkie (28 Aug), alongside smaller bites to tide you through the weekends. Other People’s Leisure and Indoor Foxes both drop singles on 7 August, Kohla releases Fantasy (13 Aug), Ferguson HiFi gives us Get Over It (14 Aug), and expect singles from Ardentjohn and Dara Dubh on the 28th.