Abbie Bell & The High Ryes – Slow Burn: EP Review

By Stuart Anderton on 12th December 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Up-and-coming Scottish Americana trio, Abbie Bell & The High Ryes, release promising debut EP.

Release Date: 10th December 2025

Format: Digital

Label: Self release

CONSIDERABLE PROMISE

Abbie Bell & The High Ryes have been carving out a spot in the Scottish country music scene for a few years now, releasing a string of well-received singles, notably the forthright Take It Off. Now they have been into the studio to record a debut EP with producer Sam Hinds which shows considerable promise.

The record kicks off with a traditional country-pop ballad Like A Good Drink, a story of heartbreak and booze – naturally, this IS country after all. However singer/guitarist Abbie Bell is itching to show her rockier side and the overdrive pedal soon gets a workout on Heavy On The Hell Yeah, a song which brings Larkin Poe to mind.

Abbie Bell & The High Ryes

ANTHEMIC ROCKER

The acoustic Small Town is inspired by Bell’s upbringing in a small Scottish mining town “Empty faces on a 29,
I searched for pennies with a phone light.” Its simple live acoustic guitar arrangement (YouTube video below) cleanses the palate before the EP’s highlight , Wildfire. Nathan Clarke’s drums crash in and Ross Macandrew picks out a driving bassline on an anthemic rocker which must surely be a live highlight too.

The final song, No Souls, sees Bell add harmonica to her repertoire; another upbeat track, and no country record would be complete without at least one song about selling your soul to the Devil (or in this case, not!).

All the songs are written by Bell, who has talked about suffering writer’s block for years before finding her muse again with the High Ryes. This EP should give her and them the breakthrough they deserve.

Here’s a taster: