CATHOLIC Action might sound like a religious pressure group, but they also happen to be a Glasgow four-piece with a cracking new single.

With meticulous instrumentation and a fantastic hook, The Real World is an indie-pop gem.

Though not as twee, there’s a whiff of Belle & Sebastian to the jaunty guitar lines and vocalist Chris McRory – who plays drums for Casual Sex in his spare time – recalls Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos in his prime.

The band don’t take the predictable route though, and this offering finishes with a charming guitar solo.

You can catch Catholic Action at multiple dates next week as they play Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen.

Fellow Glasgow indie-rockers Baby Strange also returned this week with new single California Sun, which has summer anthem written all over it, being both gentle and melodic, but somehow also captures a Jesus and Mary Chain vibe.

It’s the first release from the band since February’s dark, driving VVV, and this latest effort showcases the band’s variety.

Another name on everyone’s lips is Stanley Odd. The

Scottish hip hop act captured everyone’s attention last year when their single, Son, I Voted Yes, went viral.

Their new single, Monsoon Season, is taken from A Thing Brand New, the same album that spawned the pro-independence track.

Instrumentally, it’s not much of a departure, featuring a similarly minimalist piano loop, only more sombre.

Frontman and rapper Solareye is particularly impressive here, conveying abstract imagery in his trademark stuttered flow.

The six-piece don’t seem to be slowing their work-rate either: you can see them at Oran Mor in Glasgow tomorrow.

Two years after their last effort, indie heavyweights Foals are officially back.

Though their fourth full-length LP What Went Down doesn’t hit shelves until August, they released the album’s title track online this week.

The single is a departure from the band’s angular sound, with vocalist Yannis Philippakis yelling like a man possessed over intermittent guitar phrases and an ominous organ drone.

Some fans may be disappointed to hear the Oxford four-piece shift so radically from their funky maths-rock origins, but What Went Down is a huge tune: stadium-rock beckons.

If Foals have gotten heavier, what can be said about the return of Refused?

The Swedish hardcore act shook the genre to its core when they released The Shape of Punk to Come in 1998.

Dawkins Christ, from forthcoming LP Freedom, marks their reformation in devastating fashion.

Though never afraid of aggressive political statement, Richard Dawkins’ militant atheism forms a new target.

While the band maintain a familiar unpredictable, even reckless approach to their songwriting, the dense sound – with gargantuan Slayer-esque riffs and foreboding atmosphere – suggests they’ve somehow gotten even heavier with age.