Scottish New Music Round-up: July 2025

In amongst the rammy of June, we missed singles from Town Centre (Red Flags), Health & Beauty (Footprint), Oyakhire (Tied Up), corto.alto (Don’t Listen), Rudy Zygalo (EURASIA) and Megan Black (Clementine). On 20 June, party starters KuleeAngee released their debut EP Is It Awryt, pulling together their first four singles, plus one extra – All In – a 90-second heady blur of beats and bass. On the same day, we also missed Poundstore Diabolism, from How to Swim, the second in the Glasgow art-rockers ambitious six-album project for 2025.

From being able to swim, to not, in July Edinburgh producer Barry Can’t Swim releases his second album, Loner. Pick up the July mag to read the full review, where you’ll also find words on the latest from Amy Macdonald and Katie Gregson-Macleod. For a much-needed shot of adrenaline, on 4 July seek out Hannah Laing’s latest EP, Into the Bounce. Part one in a trilogy of genre-focused releases that will later in the year serve fans of hard house and trance, Into the Bounce's gut-punching techno triumvirate is bookended by collabs with Charlie Sparks and Shlømo, with Laing’s solo offering Pedicure Princess its synthetic, gurgling centre-piece.

At the opposite end of the musical spectrum, on 10 July you’ll find C2: Metamism; made for deep listening, this new concept EP from Glasgow artist Carsick Charlie explores the Roswell conspiracy. A gorgeous journey through different soundscapes, everything here feels purposeful, from the static that tingles over a muffled driving bassline on Light Trap, to the gentle snores that open and close the song; the mysterious hum of Be hangs heavy like clouds that could break at any minute, and the tinkling of piano keys and birdsong dance around hushed, yet commanding vocals on Metamism. It’s the most experimental side we’ve seen so far of Carsick Charlie, and one worth leaning into.

Hannah Laing. Image: Sullman.

On 18 July, Annie Booth returns with The Brace EP, her first new music since 2021's SAY Award-nominated Lazybody. Recorded and mixed at Leith’s Knockwood Studios, on The Brace, Booth confesses, ‘I’ve forgotten who I am’ on opener Who I Am, before ‘Having some words with my ego’ on Ivar Imagined. On Spring, a season synonymous with renewal and rebirth, she devastatingly admits ‘There’s nothing left to say’, before some clarity comes on closer Notice to Leave: ‘The birds don’t look backwards / The night is upon us / And there’s not gonna be / A sky like this again’. It’s an EP that feels deeply personal, Booth’s voice at its finest when overflowing with emotion.

Following on from their debut collaborative record in 2022, Music for the Moon and Trees, childhood friends Tommy Perman and Morgan Szymanski, from Scotland and Mexico respectively, return for round two. Trees are once again a focal point as the pair release Songs for the Mist Forest via Blackford Hill (18 Jul), a collection of 11 songs born out of the pair's soundtrack work on the documentary film El Dragón de los Bosques de Niebla (The Dragon of the Mist Forest). Once again there’s a romantic feel to their music, although this time with an underlying sadness, the record serving as a stark reminder that the forests of Valle de Bravo, Mexico, where Szymanski lives, are under threat – Szymanski’s classical guitar playing and Perman's electronics are tenderly matched with field recordings from the Valle de Bravo forests in a beautiful call to action.

Later in the month, Perman’s ex-bandmate Lomond Campbell (the pair used to be in FOUND together) reworks Dot Allison’s Consciousology to create Subconsciousology. Due on 25 July via Sonic Cathedral, Campbell breathes new life into Allison’s work. On opener Shyness of Crowns, bright strings still exist in tow with Allison’s inquisitive, breathy vocal, but synth blips and squelches add a new depth, like Dot Allison, but after she’s necked a ginger shot. The mournful strings and delicate hope found in the vocals of the original version of Bleached by the Sun remain, however there’s a darkness found in the rumbling depths of Campbell’s rework that’s intoxicating; there’s an elasticity, fizz and otherworldly aura now to Moon Flowers, and the gurgling and pounding techno of Weeping Roses is akin to the rejuvenating shock of jumping into an ice-cold plunge pool after a ripping hot sauna. On Subconsciousology, while the essence of Allison’s original works remains, Campbell has clearly had a lot of fun colouring inside the lines, albeit with permanent markers and neon highlighters.

Also this month, Glasgow alt-metallers Sixth Wonder release their full throttle debut EP, Prologue (2 Jul), Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter Michael Steele releases Mosaic (25 Jul), and Glasgow artist Anna Secret Poet releases I Saw This and Thought of You (28 Jul). On 11 July, The Beta Band’s Three E.P.’s gets the reissue treatment, while on the same day Numbers invite you to shake it up and make it fizz with the 10th anniversary reissue of SOPHIE’s immaculate Product on vinyl, featuring two previously unreleased tracks, OOH and GET HIGHER. There are also a bunch of new singles to look out for this month from the likes of Wave of the Flood, JusHarry and pedalo.