Wall of Sound PR

Trailblazing Scottish indie-pop band THE SPOOK SCHOOL are proud to reveal their defiant new single ‘Margins’, set for release on 13th November 2026 via Alcopop! Records.

The band recently announced a run of February 2027 UK headline tour dates, with tickets on sale now, and will also play a special in-store and signing release show at Glasgow’s Assai Records on 29th January 2027.

A loud and proud trans anthem that sees the band refusing to be pushed back to the margins of society while the very existence of trans people is debated without their voices even having a seat at the table, ‘Margins’ is another hugely important track from one of the UK’s most timely and urgent acts.

Commenting on the new single, vocalist/guitarist Nye Todd says: “I wrote this song shortly after the For Women Scotland UK Supreme Court decision. I was feeling angry and more than a bit hopeless, and then saw a video of a speech by Carla Antonelli—Spain’s first trans Senator—speaking in opposition to calls by the Spanish nationalist party Vox to repeal a law protecting trans people.”

“It’s such a powerful speech that is full of rage and humanity. At the end, she closes by saying: (in Spanish) ‘That is what you want, to push us back to the margins. But let me be clear: we will not go back to the margins!’. The same week I was at a protest, and heard so many other trans people sharing similar sentiments. The lyrics of this song are my way of trying to pay homage to that speech and to the strength and belief that transgender people can’t be erased.”

Earlier this year the cult favourite Scottish quartet announced they have reformed after an 8 year hiatus, and will be releasing their new album, Like A Heartbeat, on 29th January 2027 via Alcopop! Records (UK) and Slumberland Records (US), supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Preorders for the Dinked Limited Edition pressing of 300 are live now, and come with ‘Heartbeat Red and Yellow’ splatter vinyl*, 8 × Spook School Top Trumps cards, and a signed 8″ x 6″ press photo.

Produced and mixed by Rod Jones of Idlewild at Post Electric Studio in Leith, Edinburgh, the album was mastered by Grammy Award winner John Webber (Hozier, English Teacher) at AIR.

An album of two halves that relate and speak to each other, the first portion of Like A Heartbeat is defiant and outward facing, whereas the second half of the album is more introspective and personal.

“Ultimately, as a trans person, your personal life and relationships can never really be fully separated from the wider political background of media hostility and rights being rolled back,” explains Todd. Some of the standout songs on the album, like ‘Margins’ and ‘Corporate Caring’, come fully loaded with those emotions of anger and injustice, “wanting to run into those closed rooms of people ignorantly debating our existence and yell ‘we exist and you’re so wrong!’”

Lead single ‘Falling’ was released back in August 2026 both digitally and as a 100 limited edition cassette tape available for free in person only at specific Dinked shops on release day, along with exclusive B side ‘It’s Okay’, whilst follow up ‘Corporate Caring’ was a searing indictment of pinkwashing from fickle companies.

The news of their return was rapturously received on both sides of the Atlantic with support from STEREOGUM, CLASH, DORK, The Skinny Magazine, BBC 6music, Radio X, and many more.

Following their final farewell tour in August/September 2019, The Spook School have otherwise remained inactive apart from a sold out duo of December 2023 reunion shows celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Fortuna POP! debut album Dress Up.

Now, with the political climate growing ever more hostile and LGBTQ+ rights under threat around the world once more, one of the most important queer bands of their generation return, carrying a message of resilience, solidarity, and—vitally—hope for the future.

If there’s one thing the band wants the world to take from Like A Heartbeat, it’s that you don’t have to hide.

“People who feel on the periphery have so much to say, and sometimes we have to grab that space,” says Todd defiantly. “Whether they are trans, queer, or not, I hope anyone that listens to the record can find something that speaks to them, that makes them feel heard and seen in some way. If I was to be really optimistic, I’d love it if it made even one person stop and look behind the uninformed headlines about transgender people and realise that we are real people, living real lives…”

Live Dates:

29th Jan – GLASGOW – Assai Records (instore and signing)
20th Feb – EDINBURGH – La Belle Angele
24th Feb – BRIGHTON – The Hope and Ruin
25th Feb – LONDON – MOTH Club
26th Feb – BRISTOL – Exchange
27th Feb – NOTTINGHAM – The Bodega
28th Feb – LEICESTER – Firebug (Leicester Indiepop Weekender)
06th Mar – PARIS – Supersonic
26th Mar – MANCHESTER – Manchester Punk Festival

Tickets: https://linktr.ee/thespookschool