A semi-concept album, The Sun Never Sets tells the story of the last decade of Britain over the course of 12 original tracks.

It was released on Friday by Glasgow’s newest indie folk storytellers, Elgin And The Marbles, fronted by songwriter and former National editor Callum Baird.

He told the Sunday National that the album was inspired by all his years working at the coalface, editing the paper as Britain imploded.

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“It’s a record packed full of catchy tracks about all the bad guys you read about in The National every day – royals, Westminster politicians, buy-to-let landlords, Brexit imperialists etc,” said Baird, who is editor-in-chief of The National and Newsquest Scotland’s other titles.

There is, naturally, a song about Scottish independence, called Stick To The Plan.

“It’s about Westminster telling Scotland to forget about indyref2, get back in your box, and stars Walter Scott, Vera Lynn, Jim Davidson and Boris Johnson, with some lovely swing drums and violin parts,” Baird said.

Another called My House is from the perspective of a landlord with a big property portfolio, who’s loving making loads of cash at the expense of those who can’t step onto the housing ladder.

Baird said the concept gelled after writing the album’s second track, The British Museum, a five-verse short history of the British Empire, told through the lens of the curator and set to a rollicking folk-rock groove.

A ‘snarling but melodic’ trip through today’s UK

“I had the line ‘we’ll take all the world’s problems/and put them in the British Museum’ kicking about for ages, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with it,” Baird explained.

“I then went along to the museum while on a work trip to London and took a whole bunch of notes as I walked round, which later turned into the song.

“I remember being annoyed that one of the main exhibitions was closed for repairs, so channelled that anger in there too.

“Writing that song – from the perspective of the bad guy – unlocked the concept of the album and gave me a way to tackle subjects that were more fun to write and perform.

“Somebody called the album ‘12 snarling but melodic songs about the state of modern Britain’. I like that.”

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Having been on the frontline, reporting every twist and turn of massive political stories like Brexit, Baird has a theory that every bad development of the last 10 years can be traced back to George Osborne.

“He’s like the Thanos of British politics,” he said. “Although he’s not actually mentioned by name, his malingering fingerprints are all over the record – the dark lord of austerity, part-responsible for Brexit, his treasury policy shaped the state of the housing market.

“And to cap it all, he’s the chair of the British Museum at the moment, too, bizarrely enough.”

The album’s name was triggered by the controversy over the UK decision to return sovereignty to the Chagos Islands.

“We read somewhere that when the Chagos Islands are handed over to Mauritius and the UK no longer has any holdings in the Indian Ocean, that the sun will actually set on British territory for the first time since the days of Nelson and Napoleon,” said Baird. “We had that in our heads – although it probably won’t happen now.”

The return of the Chagos islands sparked inspiration

Produced by Paul McInally at 45-A-Side Recording and pressed at Seabass Vinyl in Edinburgh, The Sun Never Sets showcases the band’s eclectic sound, pulling threads of punk, folk, country and indie into a distinctive voice.

The single also features contributions from Chris Dickie (drums), Willem McKie (guitars, mandolin, banjo), Andy Lucas (piano, organ) and Laura Bissell (violin, viola, backing vocals).

You can order The Sun Never Sets on limited edition orange vinyl via Last Night From Glasgow. Visit linktr.ee/elginandthemarbles to find out more