Scott Evil’s debut album Big dipper, out June 5 via Spinda Records and Backpack Records, brings together three years of life’s detours and emotional detritus. The German band—formed in 2018 and known for mixing shoegaze, dream pop, Midwest emo and post-hardcore—has already shared EPs like thisisscottevil (2020), Ocean (2021), Quaranteens (2022), and a recent 2024 split with Moon Junior.
Big Dipper is a slow, honest build of songs written across late nights, shifting friendships, and the DIY spaces that keep underground music breathing in Central Europe.
“This is Scott Evil in the last three years,” the band says. “It is a summary of all that inspired us, troubled us, challenged us and brought us closer together as a band. Between the sadness of seeing good friends leave the city, the struggle of keeping a band together while also paying rent and the urge to do what you love even when it sometimes feels like you’re losing yourself in the process.”
The first single, Circles, arrived April 4, as a preview of what’s to come. “The idea came up after playing around quickly with a couple of chords; that’s why we called it ‘2 Gazy Chords’ for a long time,” they say. “Even though in the end it’s actually three chords.” The song digs into identity and emotional paralysis, centering on self-doubt and the trap of comparison. As the band puts it: “The recurring motifs of Circles reflect the feeling of being trapped in thoughts.” The single’s video, directed by Maja Bjeljac, adds a layered visual complement to the track’s tension.
The album was recorded at Karnak, a self-managed community venue in Kassel, and mixed by Felix Margraf (SUCK, Catch as Catch Can), with mastering by Bill Henderson at Azimuth Mastering. The artwork comes from Julia Walerus and Philipp Koronowski. Vinyl editions are limited to 150 transparent lavender and 150 standard black copies.
From the songwriting perspective, the band started in spring 2022 in a friend’s woodworking workshop turned creative space. “Three of the songs we wrote there made it onto the album, while we also recorded two more songs that we released on a split EP with Moon Junior,” they explain. “While recording and mixing this EP on our own, we realised that, to finish a whole album, we would need to work with someone outside the band.”
Much of Big Dipper came together in the band’s crammed rehearsal room, emerging from riffs and fragments that grew organically. Themes range from homesickness and personal alienation to pop-punk nostalgia and ecological despair. Some tracks lean playful, others melancholic. Cop Cab recalls the messiness of a night out.
Cheezy captures the depressive comfort of staying in bed while the world moves on. Red to Grey speaks of fading intimacy. Barbed Wire is about letting go. Seize My Head explores that suspended, overwhelming state of falling in love. Happening Again is simply, as they put it, “a song about Twin Peaks, because we all love the show.”
Other moments drift into coming-of-age and ecological reflection. St94 plays like a memoir with lines like “felt cute but should have been stronger,” while Redwoods sounds like a farewell to the planet—“the sun will burn us all.” Pizzazz throws it back to mixtape confessions, not just romantic but communal.
The closer, Daughter of the Sun, returns to the idea of home—not as a place, but a fleeting feeling. “It could be the warm sun on your skin, the presence of your loved ones or just an environment where you can completely be yourself.”
Musically, their references range from DIIV’s Deceiver, Just Mustard, and Slowdive to blink-182’s Neighborhoods, Cloud Nothings, Spirit of the Beehive, Drug Church, and even Metallica’s Kill ’em all. Add to that a cinematic palette that spans Buffy, Twin Peaks, Mid90s, Ghost World, Solaris, Sound of Metal, and The Thing. Books by Patrick Rothfuss, Sylvia Plath, Stephen King, and Kae Tempest also find their way into the emotional residue of the lyrics.
There’s no strict scene for this type of music in Germany
But Scott Evil note a strong network of DIY collectives holding things together. “There are many small collectives that organize everything on their own initiative and are mostly open to different genres,” they say, citing groups like Analog Nostalgia Booking (Bonn), Tipsy Shrimps (Osnabrück), Gute Konzerte Shows (Cologne), Tuennes Booking (Cologne), Diecryhatecollective (Bonn), Flacore Booking (Herford), Abseite (Lippstadt), and Tothrowup (Cologne). Two of Scott Evil’s members are also part of Emokeller Booking (Essen), a space active since the ‘90s.
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They describe a post-2020 resurgence: “After many small collectives, self-managed spaces and bands disbanded in 2020, we have seen a strong increase in initiatives in the scene in the last 2 years – which brings together many old, but also new faces.” Despite their shoegazey dynamic, they’ve found unexpected camaraderie. “Sometimes we get asked to be the ‘quiet change’ in the evening program. Rarely you experience such great support, especially from the audience.”
Big Dipper reflects what life has been for them.
It’s chaotic, it’s emotional, it’s tangled in doubt and bursting with love. And it’s all there—undiluted, cracked open, and offered without polish. Or as they put it themselves: “chaotic, happy, sad, loud, soft, warm and for the most part: emo & evil.”
Big dipper is out June 5 via Spinda Records and Backpack Records. First single Circles drops April 4. Pre-orders start the same day at spindarecords.com.
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Here’s the full track by track commentary, offered by the band:
Circles is a captivating song that delves into the topics of identity and inner turmoil.
Happy melodies are in contrast to lyrics full of self-doubt and the comparison with perfection and the compulsion to optimize. The recurring motifs of Circles reflect the feeling of being trapped in thoughts.
Cop Cab captures the pulsating energy and chaotic atmosphere of a night out at the bar.
With a catchy chorus and a hint of nostalgia, the track tells the highs and lows of an unforgettable night where friendship and the pursuit of freedom take center stage.
Cheezy describes the feeling of staying at home even though you want to go out. Sinking into bed while the hustle and bustle continues outside. The lack of motivation overrides all the feelings inside and the cozy “stay in bed” turns into deep heaviness.
Red to grey describes the slow drifting apart of two people. At the beginning there is still the red fire, which fades into the cool grey of monotony. There is only a fine line between closeness and alienation.
Barbed Wire is a driving song that radiates a lot of energy with few lyrics. About letting go of everything. Simply enjoying the feeling of giving a fuck and having fun, feeling free and unbound.
Seize My Head: Caught in a moment, suspended in it. Laying awake at night wishing it would last forever. And being enveloped by this feeling for the days to come. A song about falling in love, when all you can think about is the other person.
Happening Again: Fuck it, its a song about Twin Peaks, because we all love the show.
St94 a coming-of-age memoir. Remembering about the time sitting with ice cream and soft drinks in a skate park. Young and free from worries, but still with a critical eye from today’s view. Sentences like “felt cute but should have been stronger” are a hidden critic to the younger self.
Redwoods: Everything is coming to an end. Can you feel it? The sun will burn us all. How long will the last tree be standing? A song about feeling the world go by, and in your mind wandering through a charred future.
Pizzazz: Back to the past – with sounds that will tug at any old pop-punk heartstrings. Catchy riffs paired with lyrics about putting together mixtapes as an expression of love. Not just in a romantic sense, but as a heartfelt tribute to anyone who’s ever held a special place in your life.
Daughter of the Sun is about feeling home – which might feel different to everyone and also quite similar. It could be the warm sun on your skin, the presence of your loved ones or just an environment where you can completely be yourself. With soft vocals and shimmering chords this song consists mostly of a stripped down arrangement before it all comes together with a burst of emotion.
