Scottish outfit Butcher Boy came to us (and a BTW stamp) via the aptly titled Profit In Your Poetry LP. That set sat comfortably under the family tree rooted by the likes of Belle & Sebatian, Tindersticks, Felt, and the Smiths, lining up shot after shot of bittersweet and literate, orchestral Glaswegian indie pop. Their forthcoming followup’s called React Or Die, and true to that titular urgency, its first sounds push the line a little further: lyricist, lead Butcher (and National Pop League stalwart) John Blain Hunt couches his love-scenic couplets in more of B&S’s bounce, but there’s a cleaner spark to the piano-and-cello-laced production and to the hook’s shifty chord changes, complex in its tune and mood. Again, bitter albeit sweet, and again, very promising.

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Glascow’s National Pop League is the sort of monthly art and music party that becomes a scene in itself, and for five years, lead Butcher Boy John Blain Hunt’s DJ sessions were the reason to go. And after making a name for himself as the curator of the party that’s inspired a Camera Obscura tune (“Knee Deep At The NPL”), this year sees Hunt strike out with a full band and a spot-on debut record. The Butcher Boys have studied their Smiths tunes, adding some Belle & Sebastian, some Tindersticks, some strings, and some dreary-day poetry to craft catchy, mood-spanning indie-pop. Here’s the first single from the aptly titled Profit In Your Poetry:

Butcher Boy – “Girls Make Me Sick” (MP3)

You’ll find the Smiths love in this one, our fave from the record.

Butcher Boy – “Keep Your Powder Dry” (MP3)

Profit In Your Poetry is out 3/5