WHAT better way to kickstart your weekend than to prepare yourself for the reopening of Scottish hospitality by indulging in this week's new releases?

Fresh and raring with variety and feel-good tracks, these new releases will go along nicely with your first pub pint.


Buffet Lunch - Bladderwrack

Buffet Lunch exude child-like playfulness, experimentation and optimism through the most adult-like and complex musical talent possible. There’s definitely something satisfying, gripping and skillful in their imperfection.

One-line review: “Very few artists succeed in capturing the fun, flamboyant sound similar to the Talking Heads and the eccentrics of David Byrne, but this track comes pretty close.”

FFO: Talking Heads, Television 

 

Emaé - Over (released Apr 21)

Branded as “one to watch” by Gary Crowley on BBC Introducing, Scottish artist Emaé has made an international name for herself combining soul, R&B and pop to create easy-listening tracks with lyrical intensity.

One-line review: “Easy-listening lo-fi set to a steady dance beat — one to warm the soul.”

FFO: Emeli Sandé, Aretha Franklin, Jess Glynne, Lana Del Rey  

 

The Eves - Brand New Day

Edinburgh duo, Marissa Keltie and Caroline Gilmour, are the perfect pair for creating chart-worthy pop anthems. They have the formula down to a tee.

One-line review: “The perfect track for an early morning rise — instead of hitting that snooze button, hit play on this song.”

FFO: Pretty Preachers Club, Eleanor Hickey, Rita Ora, Dua Lipa

 

Weekend Debt - Nobody Everyone

Consisting of Glasgow locals Grant, Calvin, Harvey and Russell, Weekend Debt began last year with a jam-packed headline show at King Tut’s. They also used lockdown to hurl their creative talents to greater heights, recording well-received singles such as ‘Pomposity’ and ‘Why Don’t You Realise’, making them familiar faces within the alternative Scottish music scene.

One-line review: “It’s hard to imagine that this track doesn’t belong to the Arctic Monkeys from the ferocious, scratchy intro riff.”

FFO: The Ninth Wave, VLURE, Baby Strange, Twenty Four, Arctic Monkeys, Catfish and the Bottlemen

 

kitti - Wonderful World

One of Scotland's most impressive emerging talents delivers another on-brand track.

One-line review: "Blissful tones and rich harmonies providing a silk background to the summer."

FFO: Cara Rose, Ruby Gaines

 

Hippy - Shadow of A Lonely Light

This Glasgow-based singer-songwriter has released his second single of this year, racking up over 200 monthly listeners from all over the UK, even as far as Moscow. Shadow of A Lonely Light is just a testament to his appeal.

One-line review: “A truly unique combination of almost every decade in the latter half of the 20th century — with a psychedelic 60s lead, a Stone Roses drumbeat and Phil Collins-esque vocals.”

FFO: The Ninth Wave, Felix and the Sunsets, Joe Bonamassa, Jack Savarotti, Sapienn, Vistas

 

Faodail - Changing (released Apr 21)

Faodail is the solo project of Scottish electronic producer, Callan Marchetti. Boasting over an incredible quarter of a million thousand monthly listeners and 3 million listens on his 2020 single ‘All Equal’, as his alias suggests in Gaelic, music like his is certainly a ‘lucky find’.

One-line review: “It’s amazing when a song can instantly make your heart rate drop, even better when it can change the atmosphere of an entire room.”

FFO: Aphex Twin, Burial, Glassmasterer, Ariel Pink

 

Rebecca Vasmant - Jewels of Thought (released Apr 21)

Unique and refreshing, Glasgow-based Rebecca Vasmant is bringing a whole new meaning to modern jazz, showcasing effortless skill in an area known for its profound complexity.

One-line review: “It’s incredibly refreshing to hear in a scene that is dominated by alternative rock,  something a little reminiscent of the past with jazz 7ths on the piano along with other prominent instrumentation of the genre, intertwined with Rebecca’s stunning vocals.”

FFO: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald 

 

Washington - Welcome to the Zoo

Paisley-based but Zimbabwe-born rapper, Washington, is a talent beyond his years. With precise, masterly flow that seems to roll off his tongue with no hesitation, he’s quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

One-line review: “This is not just a straightforward trap meets rap record—though your speakers will be embracing the bass, it will also be graced with interesting samples of mariachi music.”

FFO: Shogun, Paque, Stormzy, Skepta

 

John Rush - The Older the Grape (The Sweeter the Wine)

Glasgow-based John Rush has played almost every well-known venue known to Scotland, from King Tut’s to The Royal Concert Hall and in 2018, he made it as far as New York’s Rockwood Music Hall. His 2019 album ‘Beneath the Apple Tree’ has been compared to Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood on the Tracks’ — a famously naked and emotionally stripped back folk staple and an immediately recognisable influence for his sound. 

One-line review: “This song is beautifully unpredictable, springing from a blend of pop and folk — it feels like as the seconds past, more layers to the instrumentation are peeled back revealing catchy originality.”

FFO: Chris Stapelton, Stereophonics, Jack Savoretti, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Ray LaMontagne