SNACK Bits (April 2026) Scotland’s Essential New Music Guide

It’s April, the clocks have recently gone forward, we’ve lost enough time without messing about with an intro.

Clay Rings shake their guitars in a manner that puts you in mind of The Fratellis. Catchy but fuelled by fewer pints. A bit slower but with more feminine energy, creating a mellower vibe. ‘At Nathan’s House’ clatters with confidence, ‘No Zombies in Venice’ saunters, the occasional bass sounding charming. Funnily enough, the Scottish and Spanish influence of the band members come through throughout, the title track crying out for warmer shores. Closing ‘Yes Father’ is the most sun-kissed, swaying unashamedly. The Day After Day EP is available now.

Cherry Red have expanded their line-up but ‘Before Summer Falls’ is another burst of aspiring guitar pop that will have you climbing to achieve more. The ringing guitar underpinning it all is neat, and the backing vocals should make you smile. There’s not always a lot to say about standalone singles, but you’ll definitely want to hear more.

And if you like guitar pop, Radhika has something for you, ‘Feline Bandits’ smooths the path to May’s Cine-Pop album. It’s pleasant, warm and should lift you out of any minor funk you might be experiencing. It’s a good step on from the first track released from the album, which bodes well.

As engaging, but more serious, is ‘Geneieve’ by PVC. At times, the guitar shimmers, even while the track rallies about female beauty standards, the tempo and temperature rising throughout with understandable ire. ‘Geneieve’ is out 10th April.

‘Invu’ by Demi And The Urge is a song about toxic male behaviour, jabbing fingers to a synth soundtrack. It’s a bit too fabulous for the people who exhibit this behaviour to pay attention, but for allies and those who can blend social commentary with tunes, it’s a glitzy little number rooted in the real world.

PINLIGHT keeps us dancing with ‘SALT’, but this is darker, more measured. If we ventured into reviewing songs with the format of memes, we’d be all over ‘enjoy it, but enjoy it by being disciplined’ here. The vocals are great, and the Saccharine album, due in May, should be well worth a listen.

Tremendous vocals, but across an extremely different genre and instrumental backing is ‘waning/waxing’ by Pippa Blundell. Pippa displays one of the most interesting vocal deliveries at the moment and this track, with lovely cyclical and keening guitar works wonders, warming like a whisky on a wet and windy day.

Balancing out some of the songs already mentioned is ‘Hey Boy’ by Ardentjohn (out 17th April). A hopeful and upbeat treatise on the good we can do, and making sure you look out for others, all with big keyboard whirls and a breezy disposition. It’s evidently better than most of the shit Scottish World Cup songs we’ve already been subjected to (notable exemption for JJ Bull who at least makes you dance/shuffle, as the nation dreams this time will be different), so for that alone, we approve.

We also approve of ‘Can’t Handle The Scandal’ by Kryptik x Bloom, but that’s an admission we’re equally old enough to know better, but sadly, don’t. It’s packed full of Scottish lines, humour, which we won’t share here, but think drinking, drugs, human anatomy and so much more, with a hip-hop vibe that you’ll either bounce around to, or nod knowingly.

Metal isn’t featured regularly in Bits, but that’s no slight on the genre, just an admission we move in different circles. That changes now, with Lo Rays and ‘Cease and Desist’. The clean vocal sections are as melodious as you’d hope for across any of the songs mentioned this month. It’s the bits that crunch and spit that lovers of the genre will appreciate most. Rather than ceasing and desisting, we welcome more of this.

‘All Bets Off’ by Sulka is more familiar territory, even if the idea of a song from the viewpoint of a horse in The Sopranos has us scratching our heads. It’d maybe help if we watched the show, but equally, it’s not likely you’ll unlock it all, even if you saw every episode. Whether you embrace that or not, the typical folky number, striding confidently with modest vocals. The bits the vocals soar and then catch themselves before they get too high are lovely.

‘Motherlands’ by The Snuts, aims big, the sort of song a band heading to arenas has up their sleeve. They’ve not abandoned their style or the biting elements of their accents, but they’re polishing up as they go along. Not a bad thing at all.

‘Talking’ by Copper Lungs features a band following a different route, but they’ve got eyes on a similar destination. There’s more synths, a wider blend of vocals, and more of an 80s sheen, but there’s big music being made by new Scottish bands who aren’t ashamed to shoot to the top. 

Which leads us neatly to Valtos, an Isle of Skye duo, who are unapologetically Scottish. The act blends traditional sounds, rhythms and poems of the nation with more contemporary sounds. New album The Last Light is out mid-April, but the stirring single, ‘The Ghost’ (featuring Beluga Lagoon) is a toe-tapping number your gran and achingly hip younger sibling/cousin/neighbour/pals’ kid (delete as applicable) will like in equal measure.

When artists build to an album release, they understandably dripfeed singles, and for a monthly music column, this means some artists pop up regularly. We’ll quickly race through some artists we love, but who we mention a lot, we’ll talk more when the albums drop. We’ll stand by every bloody one of these acts, but with limited space each month, let’s cut the back stories.

‘Starlight’ sees Kohla work towards her second album, this time her vocals front and centre, basking in the spotlight. ‘Really, Really, Really, Really Sad’ features Carla J Easton still in prime-pop mood, even when others let her down. Sometimes, you just need to shrug those shoulders and get on with it. The title of Frankie Morrow’s debut album is Way Out West, which is also the name of her new single. It’s emphatic, at times euphoric, and pretty engaging, it’s also different to virtually everything else coming out these days. In a good way. 

Let’s call it a month with a little bit of energy. Conscious Pilot dropping a wiry, buzzbomb of a track in ‘Human Poultry’ that is in and out in two minutes. And we’re off too, see you soon!