Scottish indie rock band, Neon Waltz select the tracks for their Netsounds Takeover Playlist.

In advance of some special Scottish live dates in May, Neon Waltz have hand picked some of their favourite tracks for the road trip.

The John O’Groats six-piece are set to play some of their biggest headline dates so far in May:

10th May  – Dundee –  Beat Generator

11th May –  Glasgow –  King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

12th May –  Inverness –  Ironworks

Their debut album and labour of love, Strange Hymns was one of 2017’s finest releases with it’s chiming guitars and big hooks that fill wide open spaces.

Click on the player below to listen to the mixtape and read about the bands selections in their very own words.

Press play and let it run.

If player doesn’t load click on this link to listen: Neon Waltz Takeover Playlist.

1.  Feelings Gone – Callum Easter 

Callum Easter is not of the same world most people are. This tune blew me away the first time I heard it, and opened up the world of Callum’s music to me. It’s just a beautiful song filtered through the head of a truly unique artist. Not enough Callum Easter’s in this world. (Jord)

2.  Dog – Bluebirds 

We stumbled across this band playing a club night in Priory, Glasgow at about 1am last year. The energy was unreal. The only thing lighting them was a strobe, and the tunes were so sinister. It was a pretty mesmerising experience. When their EP ‘There Is No God’ came out I was afraid to listen in case it didn’t live up to what I saw live. They captured it perfectly and this tune is a stand out. This song is particularly evil and I love it. (Jord)

3.  Is This What You Wanted – Leonard Cohen 

Simply put, this is fuckin’ brilliant. The drums sound amazing and the guy plays this mad random thing that somehow ends up being groovy as shit. So there’s definitely an element of drum indulgence for me but it doesn’t come close to topping the way he sings this. By the last two choruses he’s in a world of his own, nobody would dare get in his way. (Darren)

4.  No Great Mystery – My Own Pet Radio

This tune should be huge, even on an indie scale. I kinda feel like it’s our little secret though and as much as I want it to remain that way…everyone should hear this. It cropped up on a Spotify Weekly Discover Playlist once and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I played it in the van a few times and I’m pretty certain everyone in the band feels the same way about it. (Darren)

5.  Claire De Lune – Claude DeBussy

There’s no other piece of music on the planet that gets to me like this. How one piano composition can cover so much ground beats me. It’s equally delicate & intense. It’s riddled with pop melodies. It’s uplifting yet dark as hell. It’s a pure palette cleanser in a few ways – musically, stick it on when you’re stuck in a rut (writing or listening) and it becomes a reset button but also if you’ve had shit day or even more so if your frustrated…dark room, lie on the floor, stick this on and it’ll sort everything. (Darren)

6.  Only God Knows – Young Fathers 

Probably my favourite song released last year. I don’t think anyone can touch them in Britain at the moment and their latest album Cocoa Sugar is also flawless. We managed to get tickets to their Barrowlands gig last month and it felt like a gig that people will be talking about for a long time. I think they are an important band and this is the song that completely hooked me in. (Swan)

7.  Helplessness Blues – Fleet Foxes 

This song has everything that makes me tick – melody, harmonies and huge sounds. It’s a euphoric masterpiece. This, on a huge set of speakers, makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time without fail, it’s one of the best sounding recordings I’ve ever heard. But when you flesh it back to the bare bones, it’s just an incredible song. It’s hard to pick a favourite from these guys but this just clinches it. (Calvin)

8.  Reptilia – The Strokes

I vividly remember hearing this for the first time on the school bus. I was leaning over the top of my seat chatting to someone behind me (my ear close to the speaker) when I heard the riff, you know the riff. Never have I been so excited by a piece of music, ever. It got me, hook line and sinker. That’s when they used to play good music on the radio. (Calvin)

9.  Dum Surfer – King Krule

King Krule is someone that has passed me by. When I first heard the song I had no idea who it was, but the song transported me to somewhere else with the gritty opening bass and atmospheric sounds….Sounds from a city I don’t know. (Kev)

10. Big White Cloud – John Cale

I love the Velvet Underground, but never really explored much of John Cale’s own material. What a mistake when you find out he’s released songs like this. Dreamy, catchy, and just enough weirdness. (Kev)

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