Scottish Indie Rock To Help You Cool Your Rage

I’ve spent the past few weeks pretty angry at the constant onslaught of awful news, and I’ve been struggling to contain that anger and frustration. It seems impossible to live with so much rage and bitterness simmering beneath the surface, but then I remembered there’s an entire nation who does it every day.

Scotland is the birthplace of Harry Potter, rain, and anger, but they also are home to some kickass music, and, instead of turning to depression and drink to handle my emotional volatility, I turned to the next best thing: Scottish indie rock.

Your favorite songs are Scottish, and you never even knew it — The Bay City Rollers, with their hit “Bye Bye Baby” (of Love, Actually fame), Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”, and of course, the greatest song in the world, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers. Though, in retrospect, it’s not exactly.a secret that The Proclaimers are pretty f*cking Scottish.

Stereotypical anger jokes aside, Scotland has produced some of my favorite musicians, like Frightened Rabbit, who remains my go-to sad music, and The Fratellis, who are the soundtrack to every shenanigan.

The playlist below is full of Scottish indie rock that runs the musical gambit, from the soft soothing tones of The Pictish Trail to punk pioneers The Vaselines, which will help you conquer any mood from bitterness to anger and everything in between. Note: songs best enjoyed while drunk and cold.