Scottish New Music Round-Up: June 2026

The Scottish music scene has been boiling over with great releases, and last month’s column simply couldn’t contain the totality of our favourite tunes. You’ll want to catch up on Kitchen by Dovetailed (the new collab of Raveloe and Simon Liddell of Frightened Rabbit), and other singles by Susan Bear (Utopia), Kilimanjaro (I Don’t Want To Go), corto.alto (THIEF), Kohla (Venus), Walt Disco (Coup de foudre), pedalo (You Might Be Right), Maz and the Phantasms (Pigeon Song), Arab Strap (You You You), The XCERTS (rinse repeat), Conscious Route & Wends (High & Mighty), Katherine Aly (THIS IS NOT A DRILL [for the player]), Casual Drag (The Talk), Twin Atlantic (Don’t Quit It) and Lucia & The Best Boys (Big Romance).

R'n'B beatmaster Russell Stewart released the soulful SCRAP METAL MIXTAPE, PINLIGHT released her debut album, All Things Nice, and there were excellent EPs from Man of Moon (In the Echo) and Sonotto (Think Pieces), and contributing to the heatwave at the end of the month was Inferno, the long-anticipated release by Boards of Canada – a record so volcanic it won our album of the month in the May issue.

Kicking off the first weekend in June, Bicycle Trip release Losers (5 Jun), in which the Edinburgh trio present themselves as the eponymous outsiders. Their high-tempo flavour of alt-rock might seem like an odd fit for anthems about not fitting in, but the band revel in the offbeat. Lead single Plea from a Scrub is just one set of self-deprecating lyrics with an in-your-face, 90s-rock style zeal. Goes To Work rounds off with a face-melting guitar solo, a more funk feel emerges with the bassline in I Don’t Want It, and lisping, caterwauling lyrics serenading the summits of a Toblerone make for a real energy boost this early in the summer.

The same day brings Our Ship Is Ready by the consortium of Scottish, Irish and German traditional musicians that is CARA. The seasoned musicians put their folk know-how forward; as well as incorporating classic ballads like Lord Bateman, the album blends in original compositions, creating a narrative about love, separation, and particularly in the title track, emigration.

The following weekend is when storied Scottish multi-instrumentalist Jo Mango releases The Lightswitch (12 Jun), a record of her own journey navigating the toxicity of the music industry. Despite her reach as a writer – having collaborated with the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Karine Polwart and Admiral Fallow – it has been 14 years since Mango released a solo full-length. The Lightswitch is an illuminating, atmospheric concept album, contemplating the history of female artists who have walked away from the pressures of the industry, through the lens of sensory, everyday experiences. Tracks are named after familiar and tangible touchpoints: The Bed, The Clock, Your Ear, Your Heart. Expect effects like rattling cages and distorted guitars across these stormy tableaus, above which Mango’s delicate vocals shine like a light.

Also on the 12th, catch Osprey Season, the debut from Glasgow-based Jack Brotherhood. These Americana/indie-rock ballads have the same personal and confessional realism of others like Frightened Rabbit and Idlewild. The charming guitarwork on I Think About You might bring to mind other buttoned-up indie lovesongs of the 00s/10s, but pedal steel on songs like Flightless Bird give the release some more country texture. Another debut that day comes from Isle-of-Mull-based Finlay Birch, who delivers ten tempestuous hits in Weight Will Unwind, pairing smooth, smoky guitar riffs with a ghostly backing choir.

Jack Brotherhood. Image: Diana Dumi.

Back in time for summer, Brian d’Souza, aka Auntie Flo, brings to life another record of plant-infused mood music. His process of biosonification, interpreting the electrical signals of plantlife into musical notations, is expanded with a pantheon of fellow innovators – Plants Can Dance (26 Jun) is a compilation where d’Souza pairs his music with the biosonifcation of worldwide musicologists, jazz artists and other innovators.

There’s also a wave of wonderful EPs worth listening to this month. Psychedelic electronica duo Sarah/Shaun drop Remix Through the Heavy Static (5 Jun), seven reworkings of their ethereal dance compositions by contributors like Iain Cook of CHVRCHES and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3); heart-pounding grunge-punks Grogg release their aptly-named EP Grogg II on the 19th; Paulie Swan releases Swans Today (24 Jun), his debut EP that pairs full-bodied instrumentalism with an off-kilter, emotional vocal performance, taking major inspiration from Cameron Winter, and Edinburgh-based rising soul star James Emmanuel releases Good Man (26 Jun), four euphoric tracks celebrating positive masculinity. Read our full interview with Emmanuel in the June issue.

There’s also a mixtaple from new analog electronica project MKNTRL (5 Jun), plus a glut of singles for keeping cool; the 5th sees releases from Doom Scroller and Oedipus & the Mama's Boys, plus a pair up of Hanna Tuulikki & Tommy Perman. Out on the 12th you'll find new songs from Pinc Wafer and Megan Black, while later in the month there are releases by Both Hands (16 Jun), Tina Sandwich (19 Jun), Nick Dow (25 Jun) and Puppy Teeth (26 Jun).