Scottish music scene - 5 bands for 2022

After two years of stop/start/pause due to lockdown and restrictions, a number of new bands/artists are set to hit play in 2022. Some will (understandably) want to hit fast forward!

I love people that turn challenges into opportunities. Music, art and creativity will always find a way. Bands still formed, music was created, songwriters continued to pour their hearts out on to paper and recordings, music fans discovered new acts to fall for.

Here are 5 new/developing Scottish acts that I'm looking forward to checking out through 2022. 3 of the bands formed during lockdown, while Raveloe launched in June 2020. 

1. Poster Paints

Poster Paints are a lockdown project that became an actual band. Read a little more on their background in this blog from May 2021.

Simon Liddell (Olympic Swimmers and Frightened Rabbit) and Carla J Easton have only played a handful of gigs (where they become a 5-piece with help from friends) to date. Their two singles, Number One and Never Saw It Coming were the perfect soundtrack to summer and autumn, both were positively and widely acclaimed, leading to 3 tour dates with Teenage Fanclub and their own headline show at The Poetry Club. Their album is now finished, mixed, mastered and mesmerising. It's beautifully melodic and dreamy. Hopefully it will come out this year.

In the meantime, they (hopefully) kick off 2022 with dates at Sneaky Petes (10/02) and Nice n Sleazys (11/02), before (fingers crossed) playing with Belle & Sebastian at Motherwell Concert Hall later in the month. 

Poster Paints My Song live at the Assembly Rooms

Number One

2. Spyres

I caught Spyres supporting The Mary Chain late last year and subsequently blogged on the band HERE.

Spyres sound great on record and really come into their own live, so being able to get out and gig is going to be really important to them. I think they'll win fans wherever they play and building momentum through singles and/or EP's will take them to the next level in 2022.

Remarkably young, Spyres have time on their side, but I love their attitude - they don't want to wait. They have the energy of Hole and the melodies of Fleetwood Mac with glorious duelling guitars and two lead singers. Although think Wolf Alice and Alvvays for more modern influences.

Otherside (live) 

I Don't Care

3. Raveloe

Signed to Olive Grove Records, Raveloe is Kim Grant, a young and very talented singer songwriter who really started to attract attention through the release of her single Catkins in late 2021. There was a lovely soulfulness to Catkins, raw guitar paired with beautiful strings and Grant sounding like she has really found her voice. Look out for more releases through 2022 to keep the momentum going.

Catkins music video

Abalone music video

4. Brontes

Picture by Brian Sweeney

I blogged on Brontes back in the summer of 2021 HERE. I'm very keen to see how they develop through 2022, although it might be 2023 before they really kick on. Look out for a single, potentially in Spring and hopefully lots of live dates.

The band were signed to Last Night From Glasgow on the back of a Crowded Flat session that you can watch below. I watched the session a number of times in the summer of 2021 and it really reminded me how much I was missing getting out to small venues in Glasgow to watch breaking bands. I've still to catch Brontes live, so hope that changes quickly in the new year once we get through this tricky spell we are having with the new COVID variant.  Think punky grooves, a bit of an edge and cool vocals. 

Picture by Brian Sweeney

Crowded Flat session

5. Uninvited

My sister played the Tiny Changes concert at the end of November 2021 and came back raving about this band and urged me to check their singles.

Formed during lockdown, Uninvited have released Diet Cigarette and Tomboy to date. The former has a super infectious guitar riff and gorgeous flowing harmonies; I'm so full of regrets, I haven't been the same since we met. The latter has another flowing chorus full of harmonies. I look forward to seeing them live. They will hopefully be playing King Tuts on 29th January.

Photoshoot video

Diet Cigarettes

Introducing Spyres

Glasgow is buzzing again, with the fact that gigs are back playing a huge role in getting the city up and running again and putting smiles on peoples faces.

One of the young bands breaking through at present is Spyres, who recently supported The Jesus and Mary Chain at the Barrowland and who now have headline dates of their own at The Mash House in Edinburgh on 1st December, followed by a hometown gig at Stereo in Glasgow on Thursday 2nd December.

With 3 singles (Otherside, Fake ID and I Don't Care) released to date (all with hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify) and a string of shows, including festivals and the aforementioned support with JAMC, Spyres look set to hit 2022 running. 

Led by Kiera McGuire and Emily Downie, 2 singers/guitarists and songwriters in their teens, with Jude Curran (bass) and Alex White (drums), Spyres have an exciting young energy about them, mixing fiesty and fiery guitars and choruses, with melodic riffs and choruses. Power sometimes, passion always and the talent to bring it all down or play on a riff.

Kiera, Emily & Jude

Listen to the euphoric chorus of Otherside that spills effortlessly into a catchy and playful guitar solo, before flying into a flowing fast paced section, then soars with the chorus again. Then the tale of a great night out in Fake ID, crystal clear vocals for the verses, then harmonies for the chorus, the pace changing to suit. 

While I Don't Care might be my favourite of the singles to date. The chorus is delicious and sugary melodic, leading to a powerful, passionate and punky chorus that I found myself singing the melody to after one listen.

I don't care, if you don't care

When you call me in the morning, while you're acting up for your friends

I don't care, if you don't care

Cause I've heard it all before, when you said you wanted more

Will you miss me when I'm not around

After falling for their singles and live show, I was keen to find out a little more about them.

I mentioned Hole meets Fleetwood Mac in my JAMC review which shows my age, so thanks to Emily from the band for answering my questions and providing me with modern day influences.

Spyres are pretty special, don't wait for that hit single that will come their way. Get into them now.

EF - How did the band for? Where are you all from? How did you get to know each other?

ED - I got to know Keira through playing open mic gigs regularly in and around Glasgow about 4-years ago. We had really similar influences and played a lot of the same music as soloists, so naturally we thought it might be interesting to start playing together.

We were an acoustic duo for around 2-years and as much as we loved doing the acoustic stuff, at the time, we both felt like it would be even better to take that next step and make a bigger and heavier noise. We always wanted to go electric and even when it was just the two of us, we would mess around with the electric guitars, but we were still quite young and didn't really know a lot of people our age to come in  play bass and drums. We're really lucky that the first people we asked to try it out with ended up actually working really well with us. 

Jude and Kiera knew each other through social media so she asked if he was up for giving it a go on bass and Jude knew Alex through playing football and chatting about their interest in music, so Jude asked Alex if he would be up for joining the band as well.

How did you start creating music together? Does anyone take the lead on writing? Or do you jam ideas?

Me and Keira will usually get together with the acoustic guitars and play around with some ideas until we've come up with a melody and the basics of the song. We'll then take it to the boys and just jam it out from there. We'll all add in our own ideas to make the song as good as it can be, so it's really collaborative.

When it was just the two of us, we were playing loads of covers and then it got to a point where we knew we wanted to start making our own music, so we just took inspiration from other artists and wrote our own songs, some of which are still in the set today.

What kind of music are you listening to at present? Have any bands influenced you?

We all love listening to a variety of music and have been influenced by many artists including Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett and Alvvays. Seeing other girls within the industry not be afraid to make noise really inspires us. There is also a lot of great music coming out of Scotland right now too. And to be part of that scene and seeing our friends do well really helps us as we are all supportive of each other. The music is just getting better all the time.

How did you get on playing The Barrowland with The Jesus and Mary Chain?

It was a total dream come true! We waited nearly 2-years for the gig to go ahead, so we were really excited to finally be playing. The Barrowland is such an iconic Scottish venue, so to be on that stage at such a young age was unreal. Me and Kiera actually played the Barrowland around 5-years ago through the Clutha Trust at an open mic night when we were soloists, so to be back years later together was a full circle moment for us. We also did not expect that amount of people to turn up early and see us play, definitely a gig we will never forget.

Spyres at Barrowland

Review HERE

How much are you looking forward to playing Stereo in December?

Playing live is such a great feeling and our favourite part of being in the band, so to be playing our own headline show will be fun. This will be our final headliner of the year, so we'll be going out with a band and in our home city. What more could you ask for?

You've released 3 cracking singles. Can we expect another soon? Did you get to record during lockdown?

Definitely! We'll have a new single out before the end of the year, so we can't wait for everyone to hear it and will definitely be recording very soon in hopes of getting an EP released next year. We got to record a few times while being in lockdown as well. I Don't Care was written and recorded during this period as the restrictions were lifted for a short while last year. We were gutted we couldn't go out immediately and play it live. We had to wait nearly a year for a live audience to hear it, but since then it has went down a storm. 

Our newest single, coming out soon, was also recorded when things were just getting back to normal, so we're really looking forward to it finally being released.

What are your plans for 2022?

We already have some festivals lined up for next year and new music on the way, so we're really excited to get back out there in the new year with new material. We will be recording more next year too and releasing our first EP with some music videos to go along with. We can't wait to see what 2022 has in store.

As we approach the end of the year, have any bands, songs or albums stood out for you in 2021?

There has been a lot of great music released this year, despite the knock the music industry has had. We especially love Wolf Alice's new album Blue Weekend, Silk Sonic's An Evening With Silk Sonic and the two first singles by Wet Leg.

Kiera and Emily

Spyres - I Don't Care

Spyres - Otherside (live session)

The Jesus and Mary Chain play Darklands at Barrowland

I always have an extra spring in my step in the days leading up to a gig at the famous Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom. It's such a good feeling to have something exciting to look forward to. I guess I was particularly looking forward to The Jesus and Mary Chain playing, as (a) they don't play that often, and (b) they were playing Darklands, their 1987 album, my favourite from their back catalogue.

My friend Joe and I arrived for 7.40pm, in plenty of time to check in with our vaccine passports and head up to the hallowed ballroom to grab a couple of beers. I'd been checking out support band Spyres since the summer. A young band led by Kiera McGuire and Emily Downie, both still in their teens. Spyres have released 3 singles to date, packed with power, riffs, hooks and melodies. Think Hole meets Fleetwood Mac, with maybe a dash of Biffy and Foo Fighters thrown in for good measure.

Spyres won a busy room over with their energetic set. They really rocked out at times, while one of the new songs they played showcased how they are developing as young writers and performers. McGuire and Downie on guitars and vocals traded verses, harmonised beautifully and their duelling guitars created a glorious racket, while the rhythm section Jude Curran (bass) and Alex White (drums) underpinned everything. Their forthcoming single sounds like it will build on the solid platform provided by Otherside, Fake ID and the glorious I Don't Care.

Look out for a forthcoming feature on the band who headline Stereo on Thursday 2nd December.

On to The Mary Chain who arrived onstage at 9.15pm to a huge ovation. Jim Reid immediately unwrapped his mic from the stand, told us they would 'play Darklands, go off for a cup of tea, cause we drink tea these days believe it or not, then come back on and play b-sides, a-sides and other stuff.'

Jim's brother William set up in front of his amps and didn't stray too far from there for the whole performance. Totally lost in the sounds he created. Backed by acoustic, bass and drums, the five piece performed Darklands beautifully, plenty of space, the rhythm was there, but William's raw and loving guitar riffs were always leading the way.

Darklands was beautiful, Happy When It Rains was utterly euphoric, the band hitting their stride immediately. Jim was at the front of the stage, silhouetted by the lights which were magnificent throughout the show. All red at times, beaming like lasers at others, then full on psychedelic in the later set.

The extended version of April Skies was joyous, a real groove. Cherry Came Too was a chiming guitar delight, On The Wall was menacing and edgy in all the right ways, while About You was beautiful.

There's something warm about the rain

Darklands is such a beautiful album and it was a joy to hear and see it being performed with such love, on stage and off.

Energy levels were heightened for the second set, with the acoustic ditched for a second electric. A warm and scuzzy Come On sounded sublime, I Love Rock n Roll was blitzed and I was thrilled to hear Can't Stop The Rock which is as pop as the Mary Chain go.

We had the contrast of the sonic assault of Kill Surf City and the blissful Drop, while I was personally delighted to hear and see the band romp through Something I Can't Have, one of my favourites. The sng flows effortlessly, the Mary Chain sounding super cool.

Jim was on the lip of the stage, lights ablaze, sometimes turning and walking towards his brother William as if to check in on him. William could be facing the crowd, turned towards his brother, or more often than not he was facing his amps to see what noises he could conjure from them. His hair was beautifully messy, like he'd stuck his finger in and been electrocuted. In fact, I think he electrocuted the crowd!

Ending with the white noise (light and heat) of Never Understand, I walked away from the Barrowland with my ears ringing, my face smiling, my heart glowing from the beautiful noise generated by The Jesus and Mary Chain who were in stunning form.