Scottish New Music round-up: December 2025

As usual we’re not just scanning the horizon for new releases, but also the path behind us. Some musical highlights from last month includes singles from KuleeAngee, Bratakus, Grow Up, Comfort, Lou McLean, Rahul.mp3, Cowboy Hunters and Haiver (led by Billy Kennedy of Frightened Rabbit). There were also some standout EPs from Rosie H Sullivan, Becca Hunter, Nama Kuma, Nani Porenta, Alice Faye and Julen Santamaria and Higgs + Dubh – as well as an album from Faex Optim and a special 10th anniversary reissue of Young Fathers’ White Men Are Black Men Too featuring an accompanying dub mix of the album.

Looking forward (and there’s much to look forward to), on 1 December Sonotto kicked the first door down from your advent calendar with new EP i’m sorry :(, in which the Stirling-born, self-styled enigma mines their life for stories of pride and shame (“the songs are expressions of egoic stories and patterns […] which I would feel ashamed to tell anyone.”) For all its Kevin Parker-esque glazed vocals, this is an EP you can move to, whether you’re dancing to the progression of drums on LONESOME HOUSE or jolting at the exquisitely uncomfortable production on standout track NEVER TURNING BACK.

There’s a cluster of intriguing releases on 5 December – first up is Edinburgh-based Australian folk artist Emma Capponi with her debut album Buried. This collection of folk songs, all recorded live in her friend’s living room, are interpretations of Child Ballads (a 19th-century anthology of English and Scottish folk tunes), showcasing a lyrical darkness and sinister sound that you might not expect from 200-year-old British music. These are more horror story than any sort of tale of Christian morality, laden with eerie drones and full-throated, plaintive storytelling. Capponi interprets the tracks through varied lenses, from the endlessly circling vocals and synthesisers on Buried in Kilkenny to something closer to a traditional dance number on Tri Coloured House.

Also coming to us on the 5th is the second EP this year from Glasgow six-piece Lacuna, entitled Nest – expect expansive dream-pop and intricate soundscapes anchored by a purposeful rhythm section. Nest has a darker, more intense flavour than Lacuna’s output to date, guiding the listener “through the story of a soul unravelling.” Listen to the title track to enjoy a haze of atmospheric guitar driven by a bassline that wouldn’t sound out of place in an old-school post-punk outlet, or Checkerboard Man for harmonic, Americana-tinged soulsearching. 

Sonotto. Image: Tyler Tuncer. 

Finally on the same day, acclaimed composer Craig Armstrong (known for his collaborations with Baz Luhrmann on Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby) releases his three-movement suite Pacific for piano, cello and electronics via CMA Records. Given its title, it’s not surprising that Pacific is in turns static, expansive, and agitated, with subtle texturing and suspenses that carry you away (but reward on second listen). Proceeds will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross, amongst others.

On the 18th, just when the pressures of Christmas are starting to get too much and you just need to cry, comes the stripped back mixtape Bargaining from Theo Bleak. Its acoustic melancholy, inspired by the process of picking life apart at its messiest junctures, is like an empathetic hug at a time of year when one is especially needed. Keep an ear out for John in particular, a track that builds textures and weaves them into a delicate, hazy structure that sways in the wind.

Elsewhere, there are EPs from PELOWSKA and Neverseer, as well as an album of collaborations from Oğuz Kaplangı called RESIST, exploring themes of human resistance/resilience. Also on the way is ONE YEAR UNREAL, a new live recording by Moni Jitchell to celebrate one year since the release of their debut album. The limited edition cassette (there are only 50 copies!) features an expanded ten-piece band made up of friends from across Scotland’s music scene – members of Water Machine, Kapil Seshasayee, Daysleeper and others.

Lastly, look out for the little treats dispersed across the rest of the month – we’ve got gentle, acoustic(ish) singles from Juniper, M. John Henry, Quiet Man and Pippa Blundell (Blundell’s is an Unharm remix of her breakout track wasted). For those after something a bit rockier, there’s also releases from Kelso Bypass and Clay Ring (psychedelic indie rock and Spanish Brit-Rock respectively), and Acolyte release their latest single, Warm Days, with a launch party at the People's Leisure Club on the 6th.

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Listen to our New Scottish Music playlist on Spotify or YouTube, updated every Friday, and check out our new Music Now podcast – listen to our chats with Kim Carnie, Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman, and Sian.