“A favourite artist of ours, I’m always excited to hear what Pictish Trail is doing next. This is beautiful” – Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

Pictish Trail, AKA Johnny Lynch, has just completed work on a brand-new album — LIFE SLIME — a sticky, shimmering swirl of sound and oooze (both metaphorical and literal). To celebrate, he returns to the stage in 2026 accompanied by his full live band. These shows bring the new songs to life in bold, expansive form — rhythmic, euphoric and immersive, balancing motorik pulse with warped pop melody and raw emotional release. Expect tenderness, weirdness, and a generous dollop of goo.

Based on the Isle of Eigg in the Scottish Hebrides, Pictish Trail is known for his wildly inventive electro-acoustic psych-pop. His 2022 album Island Family, his third for London’s Fire Records, drew acclaim from The Observer, The Times, Mojo, Uncut, Loud & Quiet, and BBC 6 Music. It was followed in autumn 2024 by Follow Footsteps — an EP of reworked Island Family tracks released via his own Lost Map Records, in conjunction with Fire. Recasting the euphoric-bucolic psychedelia of ‘Island Family’, ‘Melody Something’ and ‘Nuclear Sunflower Swamp’ through a softer filter — and complemented by a pair of incidental instrumentals — Lynch discovered delicately kaleidoscopic new resonance in the material.

Pictish Trail’s earlier albums Secret Soundz Vols. 1 & 2 (2008/2013) were gloriously eclectic slices of lo-fi folk-pop, later reissued on deluxe double-vinyl by Moshi Moshi in 2014. His third album Future Echoes (2016) received widespread acclaim and was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY Award), winning the public vote, before being reissued by Fire in 2018. His fourth album, Thumb World, was released by Fire in 2020.

Pictish Trail has toured the world as both headliner and support for the likes of Belle & Sebastian, Pavement, Mogwai, Sea Power, and KT Tunstall. He’s performed at major festivals including Glastonbury (Park Stage), Field Day, Camp Bestival, Deer Shed, Celtic Connections, Blue Dot, the Edinburgh Fringe, and every single edition of Green Man Festival (22 and counting).

Outside his own music, Johnny is a key figure in the UK’s independent music scene. Through Lost Map Records, he has championed a diverse and idiosyncratic roster — helping to elevate artists such as Rozi Plain, Alabaster dePlume, Seamus Fogarty, Bas Jan, Callum Easter, and Free Love.

Support comes from HMS Morris & Crash Tonic

HMS Morris

HMS Morris are a bilingual psychedelic electro-pop band based in Cardiff, Wales, known for their adventurous sound, genre-blending ambition and striking visual aesthetic. Since forming in the mid-2010s, they’ve carved out a distinctive niche in the Welsh music scene and beyond, with a reputation for boundary-pushing music and captivating live shows.

Led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Heledd Watkins, the band has evolved through several incarnations but has always stayed true to a core ethos: bold creativity, lyrical intrigue, and a healthy dose of eccentricity. HMS Morris released their debut album ‘Interior Design’ in 2016, a kaleidoscopic journey through synth-pop, psych, and art-rock.

After signbing to Bubblewrap Records, their follow-up albums, ‘Inspirational Talks’ (2018) and ‘Dollar Lizard Money Zombie’ (2023), pushed their sound further into electronic, dance, and experimental territories, reflecting on themes of technology, identity, and consumerism with wit and surrealism. The ‘Pastille EP’ (2022) continued their exploration of lush production, pop hooks and bilingual storytelling. To date, all their albums have been nominated for the Welsh Music Prize.

Live, HMS Morris are a dynamic force, blending visuals, costume, and theatricality into their sets. They’ve performed across the UK and internationally, including appearances at festivals such as SXSW, Green Man Festival and Festival No.6.

As of 2025, HMS Morris are working on new material, continuing their close collaboration with long-time producer Llion Robertson.

Crash Tonic

Doors 7pm.

Contact the host of Pictish Trail + HMS Morris + Crash Tonic