Dillon Squire at The Rum Shack

I finally made it to a gig at The Rum Shack last night. It's a brilliant little venue on Pollockshaws Road in the Southside of Glasgow, just before Queens Park. Dillon Squire and his band were playing a show to celebrate the release Yellow Car No Hitbacks, their forthcoming debut EP on LAB Records.

Two singles, Bulldozer and the recent When The Novelty Wears Off have been released from the EP, adding to previously released singles, Allison Arms and Little Birdy. 

On the evidence of his releases to date and last nights show, Squire has is developing a collection of fizzy guitar pop songs with a punk / new wave edge at times. I always think you learn more about an artist when you catch them playing live and last night I came away thinking that Squire's flowing lyrics and melodies could easily be sung by Taylor Swift. His songs are full of hooks and at times many veer off into flowing sections when Squire is clearly on a role. As evidenced on recent single Bulldozer that just flows and flies.

Cause I've been running and you've been hiding

Did you feel this way when our worlds collided?

All these trials and tribulations

I could be the main star, in your coming of age film

Desperate times and desperate measure

Fucked up things that we do for pleasure

I've tried loving and it's not easy

I've been self medicating but it don't come cheaply

I've lost my mind completely

Squire's band is super tight. His co-guitarist Bo looks super cool and fires off amazing guitar solos, the rhythm section create the groove for the hooks, while the addition of Amelia Haldane on saxaphone and tambourine added something a little different to the live sound. 

People sang along to the four singles that Squire has released to date, but they also sang along to unreleased songs, including Dark Circles that has a brilliant chorus that people will pick up on first listen, it's that catchy.

On the drive home I thought of the many new and emerging acts that I've seen in Glasgow over the years. There are so many talented musicians that have been hyped but they failed to pass the acid test. I'd wake the next morning and wouldn't remember any of their songs - and not due to alcohol intake! Simply because they didn't contain any memorable hooks or riffs.

There is no danger of that happening with Squire. Fans were singing a-long during the show and afterwards two girls were sitting at the bar upstairs singing some of the guitar solos to each other. A good sign!

Dillon Squire is on all the usual social media, streaming and download sites.

Check him out and don't be surprised if you find yourself humming a riff or hook in the near future!

“My new EP is simply a self healing journey and a cathartic process that ended up turning into six of the best songs I’ve ever written. I started singing from the bottom of my heart and made sure that every word wrote down and that passed my lips was meaningful.

Introducing Dillon Squire

The name Dillon Squire came to my attention towards the end of 2022 via a lovely guy called John McKinlay. I can't remember how John and I became friends on Facebook, but it's clear that we are both passionate about music. John is extremely knowledgeable about the Glasgow music scene and was on to Dillon before he even had a release out. John no doubt knew of Heavy Rapids, Dillon's previous band.

Now going under his own name, Squire seems to have found his look and sound. There are a lot more melodies and hooks coming to the fore and he seems to have assembled a brilliant band.

Squire's debut single, released in October 2022, was named after a visit to the Allison Arms pub in the South Side of Glasgow. The vocal melody is relaxed and quite dreamy over choppy guitars that are then fired up for the chorus. 

I hope to god this never stops

We've made it this far

I know the past made you afraid

So I'll be waiting patiently

Dillon and his band followed their debut with the song Little Birdy, released in April. There is a flowing melody through the verses, a catchy pre-chorus and then a super hooky chorus leading to a guitar solo that you may well find yourself humming without knowing.

There is a breakdown and build up after the second chorus leading to an explosive guitar boost into the final outro. It's the catchiest guitar pop song I've heard from a Glasgow band in a long time. 

Little Birdy - official video

Dillon Squire - Facebook

Ripping out your eyelashes

Playing all your broken promises

All the things that you've never, ever done

Everything that you wish that you'd become

Photo by @rosemcenroephoto

I couldn't make it along to the Saint Luke's all-dayer at the start of June, but John McKinlay was there and captured a new song by Dillon called Dark Circles on film. You'll find it if you follow Dillon on Facebook or Instagram. It sounds like it could be his breakthrough song, so catchy that the Saint Luke's audience started singing-a-long with the chorus. Dark Circles will be part of a 7-song EP being released this summer (info below).

I've been thinking about you baby, always on my mind, woah-oh

I've been thinking about you baby, always on my mind, woah-oh

The song prompted me to buy tickets for Dillon's show at The Rum Shack in August and to ping Dillon a message asking if he would mind answering a few questions for my blog.

Dillon very kindly answered and we then bumped into each other in McChuills on Sunday night. Small world! Based on what I've heard so far, Dillon is definitely one to watch. And he is tall, cool and handsome to boot! Dillon also introduced me to his super cool friend and guitarist Bo. I felt very old and uncool!

INTERVIEW

Can you remember writing your first song? What inspired you to pick up a guitar and do that?

Yeah! Seven Hours. I'm sure mother bear has it in a box somewhere. It was an obsession with time and clocks, something that still troubles me today. Maybe I'll revive the seed and let it grow someday. Believe it or not, I was more into kicking a football, then I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (probably good for the world to know that). My health took a dip and I had some bed bound days which I got stuck into learning guitar and here we are still playing the same game. Glad that happened aren't I? Maybe the song inspiration came from watching the clocks and thinking about when I'd be fit and able again?

What brought you to Glasgow? And what do you think of the music scene in the city?

I grew up outside the city and somehow the buzz of the bands (particularly Baby Strange) reached the small village I lived in, Elderslie. I was magnetised by it, so much so I'd come for a gig & spend a few days on someone's sofa. Good decision to make the move up, my spine is slowly de-curving back to its natural state. I put my body through some tough tests when I fell in love with the music coming out of Glasgow. The scene is interesting now, there's always something new happening. It's like we're all little bullets in a golden revolver, someone's just waiting to fire into the next level. Exciting!

How did you bring your band together? How quickly did you gel?

Bo and I have been at it for years, we're musically and spiritually glued. Rab and Josh complete the band, we're in our hottest form yet. On the 'gel-o-meter' it's an 11/10. All undeniably the best musicians I've ever worked with, who see the bigger picture and have extreme levels of faith. I can't forget to credit other people who have performed on the project such as Amelia, Pete, Johnny and Jamie. The helpings hands have certainly been honourable ones.

Rab rings me up sometimes and tells me how excited he is for the future and how much he believes in me. Shit like that really keeps me going.

What can you tell me about your forthcoming EP? Your song Dark Circles generated an incredible response at your recent Saint Lukes show. It's super catchy! 

There's 7 tracks on it, it's coming out mid-August and it's full of bangers that come from the bottom of my heart. Somewhere I never dig but I'm so glad I have. Yes, Dark Circles will be on there and it's annoyingly catchy, infectious to the ears some say. Beware. When everyone screamed it back at us during the St Luke's show, I knew it was the one.

Are you writing a lot? Can we expect further releases in 2023? 

All the time, depends what you define as writing. I scribble silly little ideas down all day and spit random lines into my voice memos all day long. So I guess I'm writing on the daily? I do feel my writing is the best it's ever been, but I'm still young and learning all the time. Excited to see where it's at in the next few years.

What music are you listening to at present? 

Arlo Parks, Bowie, Turnstile, Inhaler and Tupac are at the top of Spotify currently, that's gotta be anyone's most honest answer... All of them mesmerise me on the daily.

You can check some tunes that Dillon enjoys by visiting

Dillon's Digital Disc #1

Dillon's Digital Disc #2

Dillon's Digital Disc #3