Scottish rockers Silver Dollar Room had a very busy two years with their release of their ‘Gilded Echoes’ album and its acoustic counterpart in 2024, and the almost equally enjoyable ‘Can’t Rain All The Time’ and a piano-based reworking of the entire album both appearing in 2025.

With the announcement of a brand new non album single ‘Black Widow’ coming just two weeks into 2026, it appeared on the surface as if the band were setting themselves up for yet another busy year. However, the announcement was coupled with the news that the band were to split soon after, making ‘Black Widow’ their swansong.

As singles go, it’s a perfect way to bow out. The constantly busy drumming and post grunge guitar tones provide strong callbacks to the best tracks on ‘Gilded Echoes’, but a slightly cleaner production sound gives the impression of a slightly bigger budget coming into play.

Melodically speaking, the track is peak SDR, with the heavy toms and huge riffs providing a very natural base for John Keenan’s tough yet melodic vocal. The way he uses relatively clean tones against a slightly grungy backdrop creates a great sound – very much in keeping with the best of the band’s prior works – and using a confident tone to hit higher registers during a pleasingly punchy chorus accentuates a great melody with ease.

Lyrically, it fits well with the band’s narrative interests and social commentary. In the band’s own words, it is “inspired by the 1994 murder of Stuart Nicol in Aberdeenshire. His wife, Nawal Nicol, was accused of plotting the crime but later acquitted. Two men, Jason Simpson and Muir Middler, were later convicted of his death. Decades later, the story continues to echo through news reports, podcasts, and now music, keeping alive the legend of the Black Widow of Ellon.”

Factor in more of a groove-laden approach during this track’s heavier moments, a rattling bass tapping into a slightly different metal influenced sound, and a superb ringing guitar part building up a powerful climax, and ‘Black Widow’ features most of Silver Dollar Room’s most effective ingredients for a near flawless three minute blast.

By delivering something so strong, it seems a great pity the band aren’t about to follow this up…but the journey to this point has been a great one.

Take a listen to ‘Black Widow’ below.