VA - Something For The Longing (Scottish Independent Pop 1985 - 1999) (3 x CDs)

SCOTTISH POP

VA - Something For The Longing (Scottish Independent Pop 1985 - 1999) (3 x CDs)

Something For The Longing gathers fourteen years of Scottish independent pop into a single frame, and the effect is quietly moving. The compilation traces a scene that never chased the centre of the map, choosing instead to build its own corners, its own rooms, its own weather. Across these tracks you hear the shift from mid‑eighties DIY sparkle to the more polished indie pop of the late nineties, yet the emotional thread stays steady. Longing, distance, small triumphs, and the sense of making something bright in a grey climate all run through the set.

The labels represented here tell their own story. Tiny imprints, short‑lived collectives, and a few sturdier independents form the backbone, each contributing singles and EP cuts that rarely travelled far beyond Scotland at the time. The formats range from seven‑inch pressings to cassette‑only releases, many of them now difficult to find in clean condition. That scarcity adds weight to the listening, as if the songs have been carried forward by hand.

The sequencing moves gently, letting jangle‑pop guitars fall beside synth‑leaning tracks and more introspective pieces from the mid‑nineties. Nothing feels forced. Instead, the compilation opens a window onto a scene that valued melody, sincerity, and the pleasure of making music with friends. By the end, the title feels right. These songs hold a kind of longing that never fully resolves, and that is exactly what makes them linger. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Jesus and Mary Chain - You Trip Me Up 2:27

02 Shop Assistants - I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You 2:19

03 Rote Kapelle - These Animals Are Dangeroos 3:50

04 Soup Dragons - Soft as Your Face 3:31

05 Motorcycle Boy - Big Rock Candy Mountain 3:17

06 Primal Scream - Gentle Tuesday 3:48

07 Big Gun - Heard About Love 2:59

08 Thieves - Talk Your Head Off 3:35

09 Clouds - Get Out of My Dream 2:32

10 Biff Bang Pow! - He Don’t Need That Girl 2:08

11 Revolving Paint Dream - Stop the World 4:04

12 Jasmine Minks - Cut Me Deep 3:25

13 Christine's Cat - She's Alive 4:59

14 Baby Lemonade - Much Too Late 3:16

15 Golden Dawn - My Secret World 2:09

16 Vaselines - Teenage Superstars 3:27

17 Dawson - Noel Edmonds 1:20

18 Stretchheads - A Freakout 2:00

19 Badgewearer - Buspass Conspiracy 2:21

20 Spirea X - Chlorine Dream 4:21

21 Fenn - Saint's Gate (demo) 3:33

22 Fizzbombs - Blue Summer 1:59

23 Hardy Boys - Wonderful Lie 3:11

24 Whiteout - The Next Big Thing 3:36

25 Vultures - You're Not Scared 3:00

CD2

01 Orchids - Something for the Longing 5:28

02 Wendys - Enjoy the Things You Fear 4:21

03 Pearlfishers - Sacred 5:26

04 BMX Bandits - Serious Drugs 3:24

05 Superstar - Don't Wanna Die 4:58

06 Long Fin Killie - The Lamberton Lamplighter 5:09

07 Whirling Pig Dervish - Whip 1:32

08 Stanleys - Royal Blue 3:06

09 Lung Leg - Punk Pop Travesty 1:04

10 Glue - Modelling 4:09

11 Spare Snare - Wired for Sound 2:49

12 Pink Kross - Punk Outfit 2:21

13 Lugworm - Sweaty Says 2:07

14 Blisters - Patrick Meets the Courgettes 1:34

15 Trout - Owl in the Tree 2:03

16 Yummy Fur - Typical of Boys 0:45

17 Poison Sisters - Chicane 4:25

18 Hee Haw - 6/26 2:34

19 Sally Skull - Bride of Frankenstein 2:24

20 Luci Baines Band - Find a Lil Love (extended) 4:54

21 Eska - Running on Sum Six Dew 2:35

22 Country Teasers - The Last Bridge of Spencer Smith 4:56

23 Nostril - Token Song About Foreign Politics (B. Traven's Chinese Souffle) 1:18

24 Dick Johnson - Disposable Darling 2:25

CD3

01 Arab Strap - The First Big Weekend 4:55

02 Delgados - Monica Webster 2:30

03 bis - Keroleen 2:12

04 Frank Blake - Plastic Bag 2:53

05 Belle and Sebastian - Lazy Line Painter Jane 5:49

06 Urusei Yatsura - Hello Tiger 3:18

07 Male Nurse - My Own Private P. Swayze 4:44

08 Starstruck - Fondled Orange 4:08

09 Starlets - Tainted 2:15

10 El Hombre Trajeado - Logo 3:32

11 Gilded Lil - Last Tango in Tollcross 3:49

12 Camera Obscura - Your Sound 3:30

13 Huckleberry - Three-Speed Wilfred 4:39

14 King Creosote - Little Paint 2:43

15 Beta Band - Inner Meet Me 6:18

16 Amphetameanies - Last Night 3:09

17 V-Twin - Thankyou Baby 5:14

18 Mogwai - Christmas Steps 10:39

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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