Is everybody in? We’ve had our summer – that May sun spell melted our heads and toasted our souls – but the best times are still ahead. Festivals. Wild nights. Songs you’ll swear were written just for you. So let’s not hang about; let’s hit the road.
Right, BITS isn’t here to lecture, but we are here to nudge. Former Champ released ‘Crooked Little Line’ in May and it seems like many of you missed it. Don’t. It’s a gem, guitars with a spring in their step and a chorus that could’ve wandered in from a St Etienne daydream. Pop this pretty should be shouted about, especially when it’s being made just down the road.
Megan Black isn’t waiting around for approval either — she’s currently blowing away audiences in New York, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz. Her new single ‘Clementine’ rides a big 70s rock wave, vocals blazing, lyrics burning about women on fire. That’s the American dream, surely?
And if you’re done tearing up the highways, let’s ebb into the stars. Maaike Siegerist’s ‘Cosmonaut’ teases her upcoming space-themed EP, Starbound. It’s dreamy, deliberate, and melancholic in all the best ways. There’s a nostalgic shimmer here, like watching reruns of the future we never reached. Set your mind adrift and let this one carry you.
Vanderlye are slowly finding their place in Glasgow’s scene, and their The Reckoning EP proves why. Male-female vocal interplay, clever arrangements – think Geneva at their most elegant. These are songs that would work just as well on late-night drives as they would in the background of your favourite film.
On new EP Flail, waverley. take a different approach. It’s more urgent, more frantic, like a band flinging everything they’ve got at the wall. And you know what? Plenty of it sticks. They’re not only flailing, they’re flaring, and they’re out to make their mar
The Rooks, on the other hand, aren’t running; they’re swaggering. ‘Right About Now’ brings the stomp, the sneer, and a little something for those waiting on BRMC’s return. It’s guitar music with that gallus touch and just enough grime under the nails.
Okay, you ready for one of our archetypal quick-fire rounds? Buckle up. Lil Bon’s ‘Chowder’ is one of those unexpected delights – low-key, sweet, a little wry, and catchy as sin. Erin Meg’s ‘drenched!’ brings soft-flowing Scottish sincerity to indie pop’s open waters. It glistens, it lingers, it pushes you to allow yourself to love.
Shimmer ‘94 drop ‘That’s What You Get’, and if you’re not bouncing about like you’ve just discovered live music for the first time, that’s on you.
Then again, a lifetime of pogoing at gigs has left us with Bad Knees, coincidentally the name of the next band. ‘Wallace’ is about a stray dog (not the wrong ‘un celebrity chef Gregg), and the song zips along like said dog with its head out the car window. Joyful, scrappy, sun-soaked.
Mànran change the pace with ‘Something That I Said’, a gently swelling pop track with subtle trad twists – understated, but charming. Meanwhile, HÜSH are far from subtle. ‘Sober October’ punches hard and sulks harder, but beneath the surface there’s a warmth that sticks around.
And that, for this month, is your lot. Get stuck in. Find your anthem. Whether it’s sunshine or starlight guiding you, we’ll be here in July: knees patched, speakers full blast.
