Scottish New Music round-up: May 2025

As appears to be the case for most months now, in April we were spoiled for choice. Amongst it all, we missed Proc Fiskal’s latest EP Canticle Hardposte as well as singles from Azamiah (Two Lands), Goodnight Louisa (Jennifer Aniston), Saint Sappho (Floating), Rudi Zygadlo (Finasteride), Barry Can’t Swim (Kimpton), Brìghde Chaimbeul (She Went Astray), Uninvited (SNAKE CHARMER) and Possibly Jamie (Drug Metaphor).

When it comes to new releases for May, it’s already stacked. Unconventionally, starting in the middle of the month you’ll find Maranta’s Day Long Dream via Paradise Palms. The long-awaited debut album from Edinburgh's Gloria Black and Callum Govan, the pair first caught our attention around 2019 with their exquisite single Radiate. Since then they’ve put out a steady(ish) stream of bangers, released an EP via Lost Map, and have tirelessly worked on their evolution as artists, creating the inclusive, immersive world of club night Microsteria.

It’s bittersweet then that this, their debut album, will also be their last. Going out with a bang, Maranta’s final voyage is the kind of dream you won't want to wake up from, an intoxicating mix of icy synths and warm wubbing electronics, brimming with phantasmagorical sounds and imagery – caterpillars, mycelium, blankets made of moss, coral, twisted tree roots, creepy yet alluring spiders. With pop hooks for days, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. But at least with Day Long Dream, from 16 May it will be yours to enjoy for a lifetime. What a parting gift.

From one magical world to another, at the end of the month Faith Eliott invites you to enter Dryas. Due on 30 May via Lost Map, Dryas further exemplifies Eliott’s ineffable abilities in storytelling and songwriting. Working closely alongside producer Robyn Dawson, every thought, every word, every sound feels meticulously placed, the weight or softness of a song’s words emulated to perfection by the instrumentation; found sounds, fingerpicked guitars, lush strings, brass, shuffling drums, droning and distorted or ominous static electronics all add extra emotional depth. Whether delicately soaring and bright or deep, despairing and mournful, there’s something so utterly captivating about Eliott as they meander through daily observations and poetic ruminations on life and existence.

Faith Eliott. Image: Flannery O'Kafka.

Earlier in the month, Glasgow DJ-producer Rebecca Vasmant releases Who We Are, Becoming via New Soil (9 May). Featuring an impressive cast of contributors, her latest LP of contemporary jazz combines stumbling drums, slinky piano lines, celestial chimes, brass and sax flourishes galore, with soulful vocals that bob and float in and out of songs in unexpected ways that gives the record an overall delightfully trippy and dreamlike qualilty. Wrapped up in personal growth, spirituality, the importance of her friends and family, this one feels particularly personal to Vasmant and deserves to be listened to in its entirety.

On 16 May, Glasgow-based violinist Emma Jane Lloyd releases mue via Scottish contemporary classical label TNW Music, showcasing her impressive bow skills across 13 tracks that truly push the boundaries of her instrument. On 24 May, in a style inspired by Scottish travelling singers, Quinie releases Forefowk, Mind Me via Upset the Rhythm. With research for the record undertaken by Quinie on her travels across Argyll with her horse Maisie, there’s an incredibly rich and transportative nature to the record that feels more rooted in a 19th century crofting community than in 21st century Glasgow. 

Meanwhile, on 2 May in the Scottish Borders, Hawick-based artist and musician Miwa Nagato-Apthorp releases her debut EP via Alchemy Film & Arts. Named after a type of Japanese divider doorway curtain, Noren looks to Nagato-Apthorp’s dual Japanese and Scottish heritage for inspiration. Exploring histories specific to the Scottish Borders and beyond, across the record’s beautifully thoughtful instrumentation, Nagato-Apthorp questions land, gender and cultural identity, while her beautiful rendition of the Japanese folk song of resistance Takeda no Komoriuta, brings us a little closer to her Japanese culture. On the same day, enjoy a touch of old Hollywood glamour from Alice Faye, albeit with the occasional potty mouth, as she explores the complexities of relationships, self-worth and empathy on her latest EP, Silly Little Fool. Channelling artists like Doris Day, Peggy Lee and Martha Wainwright, across the EP’s five tracks, Faye’s vulnerability, honesty and voice are the stars of the show.

Pick up this month's magazine to find full reviews of records from Jacob Alon, Kathryn Joseph, Theo Bleak and No Windows. Also this month, you'll find more new albums from The Twistettes (Red Door Open, 2 May), Slam (Dark Channel, 9 May), The Mary Column (Very Sparrow, 23 May), Garbage (Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, 30 May), Life Coach (A Love Letter to Your Yearning Heart, 30 May) and Cwfen (Sorrow, 30 May), EPs from waverley. (Flail, 2 May), Magnus Kramers (Pilot Light, 16 May) and Day Sleeper (This House Won’t Fold, 13 May), plus singles from Pleasure Trail (Spartanism, 2 May), Aylee (Good Enough, 7 May), M. John Henry (Heart of Coal, 9 May), Maz & The Phantasms (Factory Hell, 9 May), Thundermoon (You. Me. (ft. Megan Black), 23 May) and loads more. And breathe.