The inspiration for Neutrals’ Steven Proctor, Bus Conductor is an old newspaper article about a Scottish bus driver who gambled away the day’s collections. The song is quintessential Neutrals: Bay Area postpunk-indiepop that recalls Television Personalities or – if anyone remembers them – Milky Wimpshake, with the vocals very prominent in a storytelling way and the songs’ subjects often Scottish/British (their singer is unmistakably Scottish). It is also a really good song: my favourite from their 2024 album New Town Dreams (released, obviously, on Slumberland), which itself remains one of my favourite albums of the post-Covid era.