No bells, no jingling, definitely no forced jollity and not a scrap of anything glittery on the sleeve – The Last Battle’s Once Upon A Boxing Day could just be the perfect Christmas single.

Being about Boxing Day, there’s an entirely appropriate hung-over feel to the song. Singer Scott Longmuir’s vocals suggest he had one too many the day before, while managing to get across the heartfelt regret detailed in the lyrics with ease. The single’s opening track Whisky probably holds the cause of his troubles. The final track Secret Arcade is a pretty instrumental of gentle strumming and plucked strings.

Keep an eye on The Last Battle in 2010. Relatively newly formed, their music has a lovely sense of space which bodes well for the future. There’s plenty of scope for expanding their sound with strings but it also sounds just fine the way it is at present. Coming from Edinburgh, they sound definitively Scottish – a blend of classic indie-pop jangle, which Scotland does better than anywhere else, and mournful folk, which Scotland does pretty well too.

The finishing touches are currently being put to their debut album, which should surface early next year. Meanwhile, this single, which comes in a numbered hand-made sleeve if you’re quick about it, is available here.

The Last Battle play at Edinburgh’s Trampoline all-dayer at The Wee Red Bar on December 12^th.