Photo: Alex Smith

One doesn’t think of Scotland as being a hotbed for quality Americana, but the Dirty Beggars’ brooding twang could certainly change that notion going forward. “We have slowly been infiltrating the general music scene rather than trying to create a bluegrass scene,” guitarist/vocalist Kieran Begbie tells Hive. “With bands like Mumford and Sons having great success it seems like doors have been opened for bands like us to become more mainstream.”

Such is the case with “Homecoming Day,” one of the more poignant tracks from the band’s debut, Bite the Bullet. Themes of longing blend with laid-back harmonies, that Begbie admits, can come off like a bit of a buzzkill. “I wrote [this] years ago now when I was about 15 or 16 years old,” he says. “At the time most of my songs were a bit more depressing.”

If “Homecoming Day” is from the mind of a mere teenager, we’ll take depressing any day.

Bite the Bullet is out now at digital retailers via Dimerock Records.