Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets are taking the Scottish indie scene by storm simply by bearing their souls. That’s a pretty straightforward mantra but it’s one that evidently works for the Glasgow four-piece, who are already turning heads with their truth serum of frank lyrics and blazing shoegaze sound since they first geared into life as a post-pandemic outfit only four years ago.
The band’s cohesive, ethereal musicality is, of course, not borne out of obscurity – singer Kenzi Murray, guitarist John Tamburrini, bassist Andrew Cummings, and drummer Sam Rae grew up together harnessing nascent sonic dreams before they decided to take the leap with debut single ‘When I Tell You’ in 2021, from which they have only continued to grow with tunes like ‘Limerence’ and their most recent release ‘Video Call’, marking them with a critical approval as ones to watch in the Scottish scene.
What makes Bottle Rockets’ success even more remarkable, however, is the fact they’re treading the boards of some of the UK’s biggest festivals – including TRNSMT, Reading and Leeds, and an upcoming slot at this summer’s Great Escape in Brighton – on the rapture of their singles alone, having not yet released a full record. Plans for a much-vaunted EP are in the works to possibly hit the airwaves later in the year, not before embarking on an intimate tour around the UK in May.
All in all, the good vibrations of an upward trajectory are clearly in their orbit, rendering the homemade take-off of the Bottle Rockets an inevitable, unmissable event of the future. Before that launch, however, we sat down with the band to grill them on some of the most pressing questions, from their worst pub song to their favourite night out.
Quick-fire Questions with Bottle Rockets
What exactly is a bottle rocket?
“Contrary to popular belief, we’re not named after a Scottish insult; John and Sam actually took inspiration from a lyric in ‘Sleepwalkin’ by the US band Better Oblivion Community Service, and it all started there. It’s an American homemade firework from what we’ve gathered online, though.”
Three words that describe your sound?
“Dreamy Honest Anthems.”
If you could allow any artist to join your band as an honorary member, who would it be?
“Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails.”
Favourite Scottish artist?
“CHVRCHES and the Blue Nile are all pretty up there.”
What song would immediately make you walk out of a pub if it started playing?
“‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I (sorry).”
Favourite cocktail?
“Spicy Margarita on the rocks always.”
What album made you want to become a musician yourself?
Kenzi: “19 by Adele.”
Sam: “American Idiot by Green Day.”
John: “Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits.”
Andrew: “The Joshua Tree by U2.”
If you had to compete in an Olympic sport, what would it be?
“Gymnastics OR figure skating looks pretty fun – although Kenzi doesn’t quite have the grace or decorum.”
Best song you’ve ever written?
“It’s on the upcoming EP; we wrote it really quickly, and it’s quite a vulnerable one, so it felt quite cathartic for us to write.”
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Kenzi: “Rihanna (iconic).”
Sam: “Green Day.”
John: “Catfish and the Bottlemen (late bloomer).”
Andrew: “U2.”
Which classic movie do you think your music could soundtrack?
“Twilight? 500 Days of Summer? Any sad rom-com, really.”
Favourite quote?
“‘I always tell the girls, never take it seriously, if ya never take it seriously, ya never get hurt, ya never get hurt, ya always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends’ [from the 2000 movie Almost Famous].”
Which artist should more people listen to in 2025?
“Searows is an amazing artist we found through TikTok. Momma are also a cool band as well – recently been listening to a lot of their music.”
Best night out in Glasgow?
“A night in the Cathouse never fails to entertain.”
Are The Beatles overrated?
“Nah, adequately rated (controversial question, depends who you ask in the band).”
