5 Fantastic Songs From Longtime Scottish Band Del Amitri You Need To Know

Del Amitri formed in Scotland in the early 1980s, and they’re still a working outfit today. During that time, they’ve released just seven albums, in large part because they took most of the first two decades of the new millennium off before reuniting.

Still, their catalog is a treasure trove of intelligent, heartfelt songs from lead singer and songwriter Justin Currie. They scored three U.S. Top-40 hits, including the 1995 Top 10 smash “Roll to Me.” But we’re shunning those here to bring you five deeper Del Amitri cuts we’re guessing you’ll be adding to your playlist in no time soon.

“Nothing Ever Happens” from Waking Hours (1989)

After their self-titled debut mostly came and went without a trace in 1985, Del Amitri returned a changed band in 1989 with Waking Hours. They shed some of the artsier sounds for a more straightforward melodic rock approach that highlighted Currie’s excellent songs. Opening track “Kiss This Thing Goodbye” sneaked into the U.S. Top 40. But “Nothing Ever Happens,” the closing song on the record, is the one that broke them in the United Kingdom. It’s a detailed and subtly moving rundown of the malaise of everyday living, featuring a great chorus.

“Surface of the Moon” from Change Everything (1992)

For our money, Change Everything is the finest Del Amitri record. (Although, because of the consistency of Currie’s songwriting, there aren’t any clunkers.) There are numerous songs from this record deserving of a closer listen, such as the aching ballad “Be My Downfall” and the rousing, romantic closer “Sometimes I Just Have to Say Your Name.” And we didn’t even mention the Top-40 single “Always the Last to Know.” But we chose “Surface of the Moon.” Currie’s eloquence shines on phrases like the ancient trails of our coupling, all in the service of a song about how the absence of love casts a harsh light on one’s surroundings.

“Tell Her This” from Twisted (1995)

Twisted received a big commercial boost from “Roll to Me,” a breakaway hit that gave the band their biggest success in the U.S. As is often the case, the song that hits the biggest is often the simplest, even as there’s no denying the catchiness of “Roll to Me.” But we’re throwing the spotlight on “Tell Her This,” which comes from the perspective of a guy who’s made a boatload of mistakes but wants to win back his former love, using an intermediary to deliver the message. Tell her from this high terrain / I am ready now to fall, Currie sings, his character trading in pride for happiness.

“What I Think She Sees” from Some Other Sucker’s Parade (1997)

There are many very capable songwriters in the world who choose not to write from the perspective of characters that are less than honorable or praiseworthy. By contrast, Justin Currie comes at his lyrics from a place of honesty, even if that occasionally makes his narrators and protagonists the villains in their own stories. In the case of “What I Think She Sees,” which features a slow-building groove, the guy explaining the situation is loved with whole heart by a woman who sees only his good side. But he’s here to tell us that her love goggles are deceiving her into thinking he’s something he’ll never be.

“Missing Person” from Fatal Mistakes (2021)

What a wonderful surprise it was when Currie and Iain Harvie, who has been with the band since the beginning, returned with some fresh cohorts and a new Del Amitri record in 2021. They’d reunited for live shows in the previous decade to start the ball rolling, and Fatal Mistakes captured them sinking back into their signature sound like a comfortable shoe. And Currie, who had delivered four fine solo albums in the interim, also returned at the top of his game. Check out this slice of life about a guy hanging out in his favorite watering hole and realizing he’s more hiding from life than actually living it.

Photo by John Lynn Kirk/Redferns