Dragged Up channel off-kilter art punk through a fuzzed-out psych garage lens. Led by Eva Gnatiuk, with Simon Shaw, Lauren Peters and Stephen Mors, they’ve drawn comparisons to The Velvet Underground, Dead Moon, Death Valley Girls, Spacemen 3, and C86. Support from Alex Rex.

Formed in Glasgow in 2018, Dragged Up channel off-kilter art punk through a fuzzed-out psych garage lens. Led by Eva Gnatiuk, with Simon Shaw, Lauren Peters and Stephen Mors, they’ve drawn comparisons to The Velvet Underground, Dead Moon, Death Valley Girls, Spacemen 3, and C86, while carving a sound all their own.

Their debut D/U (2020) and Hex Domestic EP (2023) gained praise from Louder Than War, The Wire, Moof Mag and Record Collector. 2024’s album, High On Ripple, was critically acclaimed, earning airplay on Freakzone on BBC 6 Music, WFMU, and Louder Than War Radio. They have garnered admiration from the likes of Jon Dieterich (Deerhoof), Emmett Kelly (The Hard Quartet/Ty Segall/Bonnie Prince Billy) and Jim Smith of The Nightingales.

They’ve supported acts like The Vaselines, Acid Mothers Temple, Objections, The Bevis Frond and Bo Ningen. Their new singles Blake’s Tape and Clachan Dubh were released in May 2025 (Rare Vitamin Records) before they embarked on an EU/UK tour with The Hard Quartet in June. They have more UK tour dates lined up for August, with a new album on the horizon.

“When the band hits their stride, they’re unstoppable...’ - SNACK mag Scotland

“My fave parts display a noisy free rock edge, even as the mood and approach shift around so much, it's not easy to keep up. Just try.’ - Byron Coley, The Wire

“It's cack-handed but also learned. This tightrope walk of unpredictability and assuredness makes it a thrilling listen” - Alex Neilson, Moof Magazine

‘No matter how many times you listen, you are still unsure of what turns will be taken, meaning that each experience, so far at least, has offered something new. There’s influences far and wide on show, from the streets of New York, Patti Smith, to The Slits and the Raincoats.’- Iain Key, Louder Than War

“It’s an anything goes ethos that is relentlessly captivating. As ever, Dragged Up have boldly followed their creative instincts, free of expectation or outside influence. Songs within songs, moments within moments, forever on the brink of their next minor sonic miracle.’ - Fran Carylon, Heavy Metal Kids

‘High On Ripple refines Dragged Up’s scuzzy garage sound - sort of Dead Moon meets The Slits - but also highlights distinctive elements of originality. There’s bags of attitude here, loose and slovenly one moment, tight and geometric the next.’ - Johnnie Johnston, Record Collector

‘Psych, garage, proto-punk, C86, indie are just some of the various genres I've used to describe the off-kilter lo-fi sound of Glasgow's Dragged Up but in truth their sound straddles all of those and none seem to really catch their sound. The varied elements brought by each member results in something unique, refreshing and thrilling. I've been blown away by this.. Dragged Up are really one of the more exciting groups around.’ - Compulsion Online

Alex Rex, the project of acclaimed musician and former Trembling Bells bandleader Alex Neilson, is set to release his fourth and final studio album, The National Trust, on March 28th. Written in the wake of the sudden death of his younger brother, Alastair, the album is a poignant reflection on loss, love, and renewal, deeply rooted in the landscape of Carbeth—a cabin community in the Scottish countryside that Alastair called home. For Neilson, the cabin became both a physical and emotional project, a symbol of restoration and reconnection.

"For the first four years after Alastair died, his cabin lay empty and exposed to the remorseless Scottish weather. It came to look like a rotten tooth in a beautiful mouth. Cladding was dropping off its veneer, the ashen baubles of dead wasps nests clung to the rafters, all his possessions were just as he'd left them but eaten by mice, moths and time. Ashtrays still carried the crushed centimetres of his old tab ends. The cabins are so joyfully animated by their host's specific personality and this one looked like a haunted house. Guilt, unrealised hopes and encroaching nature yoked together in a wandering sadness. Combined with the fact that I didn't know the right way round to hold a hammer made the project of its restoration seem hopeless.”

Neilson, however, gradually began chipping away at the task, determined to transform the cabin into something he hoped would resemble “a National Trust site occupied by a psychopath,” with a little help from some friends, including Lavinia Blackwall and Marco Rea.

“They poured love into the cabin and helped restore Alastair's original vision. The project also helped restore my relationship with Lavinia which had fractured after Trembling Bells broke up in 2017. Alongside long-term Rex lieutenant Rory Haye, we applied the same intensity of dedication that we did in renovating the cabin, into creating The National Trust.”

As with Neilson’s previous albums, the recording process was intentionally unpolished, with songs presented in the studio with no rehearsals and captured in just a few takes. This raw, immediate approach amplifies the emotional weight of the album, which Neilson describes as being at a “personal apex of sour self-reflection, mock misanthropy, and self-exposure.” Longtime collaborators Lavinia Blackwall, Marco Rea, and Rory Haye return, alongside guest musicians like Jill O’Sullivan (Jill Lorean) and Trembling Bells guitarist Mike Hastings, to bring Neilson’s vision to life. The result is a deeply personal and multifaceted work, blending acid wit with haunting introspection.

The songs on The National Trust traverse a wide emotional and thematic range. The title track opens the album with a sharp and confessional edge, exploring love, loathing, and cultural critique with Neilson’s signature wit. “Boss Morris” pays tribute to the all-female Morris dancing troupe that reinvents British folk with vibrant energy, while “Two Kinds of Song” turns self-referential humour into an avalanche of remorse, culminating in the unforgettable chorus: “I’ve got two kinds of song. Which one will it be; one where I hate myself or one where you hate me?” Elsewhere, tracks like “Psychic Rome” draw from the decadence and hysteria of ancient Rome, while “The Coward in the Tower” breaks new ground as the only song Neilson has composed on an instrument before recording.

Throughout the album, Neilson’s lyricism is as vivid as ever, transforming personal tragedy into poignant and often darkly humorous art. Yet, there is a sense of finality to this work. "Songwriting has encouraged me to see the whole world as a resource. The things people say and throw away can be chiselled and polished and plopped into a lyric. It’s the same with building the cabin- scouring the edges of society for pallets, discarded wood, ornaments for the garden. But while song writing brings to life orphaned parts of my personality, the cabin is a synthesis of all my interests – nurturing my emotional health instead of exploiting it. With that in mind, I think this will be my last album as Alex Rex.”

With The National Trust, Neilson closes a significant chapter of his career, blending masterful musicianship with deeply personal storytelling. Known for his collaborations with artists such as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Shirley Collins, and Current 93, as well as his decade-long tenure leading the psych-folk outfit Trembling Bells, Neilson has long been celebrated for his eclectic and uncompromising vision. This final album serves as a fitting culmination of his journey as Alex Rex, capturing the essence of his artistry while offering a profound exploration of loss, renewal, and the enduring power of love. The National Trust will be released on March 28th via The Barne Society.

“Superb” The Times

“Irreverent and playful” MOJO

“...an utterly distinctive, mental world.” The Financial Times

“There’s a buoyancy to even the most lacerating lines now, a liberating relief in pressing on” Uncut

---