Scottish New Music Round-up: October 2024
October sees EP releases from up-and-coming Scottish talent like Nü Cros, Indoor Foxes and mokusla, while Roddy Woomble returns with a brand new solo record
We covered a heck of a lot in the September column, but still there was more to come, like Isik Kural’s sublime and delicate Moon In Gemini, or Eyes of Others x pete.mcm’s collaborative Trust, Loss, Forever record, stacked with dreamy, loping, hip-twitching grooves. There were also excellent new singles from the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, Barry Can’t Swim, Elisabeth Elektra, Zoe Graham, Jacob Alon, Linzi Clark, Saint Sappho and Katherine Aly among others.
The October release schedule in Scotland is similarly busy, although far less overwhelming than last month. On 4 October, for a heavy dose of noisy screamo-punk, seek out For me, Before, the debut EP from fierce Glasgow outfit Nü Cros. While for the most part, For me, Before is a relentless onslaught of squalling guitars, muscular drums and thick bass, FALLING shows a softer, more introspective side to the band, while on DLAW they’re furious, not afraid to share their thoughts on the state of misogyny in the music industry as they demand you ‘educate your sons’.
On the 9th, Martha Barr releases her excellent debut EP as Indoor Foxes, Sadolescence. Co-written with Fatherson’s Ross Leighton, when we spoke to Barr earlier in the year following the release of her soaring single Church Music, she described the EP as being “like my own personal mood ring.” She also told us, “I hold so much anger, which I can only express in my music, which is inherently linked to my sense of girlhood and womanhood.” And so over the course of six tracks, Barr channels her anger through rage-fuelled verses and cathartic head-banging, punch-the-air choruses. While you can undeniably hear the influence of Leighton on these songs, the experiences, pain, powerful rage and vulnerability are all Barr’s and we’re excited to follow her on what we’re sure will be a fruitful career.
From new talent, to an old hand… When Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble’s latest solo record arrives at its final song, you’re jolted upright, questioning what month it is as the unmistakable jingle of festive sleigh bells shimmer over a gently plodding, quintessentially Christmas melody. That’s right, tucked away at the end of Sometime During the Night We Fell Off the Map (11 October, not December), you’ll find Christmas Without You, as Woomble reminisces about missing a loved one, bathed in the warm glow of fairy lights. This feeling of warmth is not a rarity, but rather is one that imbues the entirety of this intimate album that Woomble aptly self-describes as a “fireside record.”
Deeper into the month, on 23 October Glasgow-based, Donegal-born singer and producer mokusla releases her second EP, lovely people here, but it’s just not the same. A record that celebrates friendship, mokusla says: "It came from a time of feeling lost, craving old connections and deep nostalgia." On opening track enjoy tomorrow mokusla sings, ‘If I die today, it’s alright / This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time’, her breathy vocal carefully dancing over an ethereal pop soundscape like a huge sigh of relief. It’s an intimate moment on an EP full of them as it twists and turns through lo-fi beats and fuzzy electronics as you dip in and out of a trance-like state. It’s an altogether calming, soothing and surprising 21 minutes and one you’ll want to listen to again and again.
And finally, a quick run through of everything else we're aware of at the time of writing. Only seven months since their last album release, Glasgow dancefloor-bothering post-punk outfit Dancer are back with the aptly titled Split (4 Oct), a joint, ahem *split* 12" with Portland, Oregon post-punks Whisper Hiss. Bringing to the table seven new tracks, it features more of the spiky, angular instrumentation and lemon sherbet vocals we’ve come to love from the Glasgow troupe.
It’s around the same time that queer Scottish-Indian producer Rahul.mp3 is set to release his Mumbai Heat EP, drawing inspiration from his Indian culture, and fusing it together with genres like jungle and Brazilian funk. On the 6th, Glasgow jazz trio Sekoya release Shuna, drawing on their love of electronic, contemporary orchestral, world, folk and jazz music, while the 9th brings the debut EP, Losing Focus, from rapper JusHarry.
Skip forward a week or so and on the 18th, there’s lots to listen out for. Amy Papiransky’s latest folk record, Friday’s Daughter, arrives with contributions from KT Tunstall, Lewis McLaughlin and Grammy award-winning banjoist Ron Block; Glasgow’s Conscious Pilot release their scuzzy, sassy, little bit Franz Ferdinand-y (hello Filth Night), post-punk second EP Wipe Clean; and originally from Dundee but now based in Edinburgh, alt-folk singer-songwriter Elsie MacDonald shares experiences of being in your early 20s across four-track EP Dressage Lessons. The following week, Citizen Papes releases Gramophone (23 Oct), while the next day Rebecca Vasmant releases her Better Than Before + Come Together EP. Pick up the October issue and you’ll find full reviews for new records from TAAHLIAH and Oliver Coates, and as the month rolls on keep your eyes peeled for new singles from Auntie Flo, Locked Hands, Beira, Roller Disco Death Party, Benni Murks x Jurnalist and DM Arthur.