We’ve got a very special joint headline show on the 1st of December at The Shacklewell Arms.

Sunturns, the Norwegian Christmas indiepop supergroup play only their second ever show outside of Oslo! They’ve played an annual show in Norway since the beginning of the 2010s, and we’re delighted to bring them to London ahead of the release of their third album of original Christmas material.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings and from Dice.

SUNTURNS

Sunturns was formed as a Christmas super group by members of Oslo indiepop bands Monzano, My Little Pony and Einar Stray Orchestra. Those bands aren’t around anymore, but the band members have other projects, such as Flight Mode, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Elva, Making Marks and Mildfire. Sunturns still exists, however, with the same name and the same line-up – strangely making it one of the most long-lived of the bands to come out of the Oslo indiepop-scene of the early 2000s. Since it is a Christmas band, they only play shows at a particular time of year. You guessed it: Christmas.

The name Sunturns refers to the original meaning of Christmas in the North, namely the winter solstice and the “turning” of the sun. Instead of getting shorter and shorter, the days start to get longer. Big hurray, but spring is still a long time away. The band is named after the song “The Sun Turns”, which opened the debut album Christmas I, and was originally recorded by My Little Pony. Christmas II also has a song with the phrase “sunturns” (The Axial Tilt), and on Christmas III it pops up again in the track First Winter.

Sunturns are:
Ola Innset – vocals, guitars, banjo etc. [Making Marks, Elva]
Sjur Lyseid – vocals, guitars etc. [Flight Mode, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Monzano]
Einar Stray – vocals, keyboards, guitars etc. [Einar Stray Orchestra, Mildlife]
Eivind Almhjell – guitars, bass, etc.
Simen Herning – guitar
Jørgen Nordby – drums

NEW STARTS

New Starts are a spikey, fresh sounding band recalling the poppier ends of new wave and angular guitar rock. Their influences include The Cars, Breeders, Bay City Rollers, The Velvet Underground and ZZ Top.

Lead singer Darren Hayman has his own long career running from the late 90s with John Peel faves Hefner to his more recent thematic and historical albums dealing with the English Civil War, William Morris and forgotten rural idylls.

“I wanted a band again,” says Hayman, “and not a band that just backed me up and played my old songs. When we form our first bands in our teens we just find some friends and work through the musical differences. I usually look for players who play in a way I’m used to. This time I looked for variance and was led by people’s personality.”

Guitarist Joely Smith [of South London’s noise-pop adults and recently DIY-punks Fresh] was recommended by a mutual friend who said, ‘She makes everything better’. Hayman and Smith shared a coffee and agreed on the correct number of guitar pedals and decided to proceed without an audition.

“There is a tendency for me to make my chords too pretty. Joely cuts against that and plays in the opposite direction.” Hayman is a fan of rules and constraints and employed a new, oblique strategy on this record. “Even though I wrote all the songs, I wanted the songs to belong to everyone during arrangement. I decided that I would say ‘yes’ to every suggestion from the band, regardless of my instinct.”

This made the songs warp and bend into new shapes and ensured that the record was the product of four individuals. Bassist Giles Barrett and drummer Will Connor come from funky afro beat influenced band Tigercats. “Pretty much the only rhythm I use, left to my own devices, is the ‘road runner’ rhythm. Will takes to care to find where the drum beat can be and we always end up somewhere I didn’t expect.”

Come join us for a special party to launch the new Fightmilk album “No Souvenirs”.

Support comes from adults and Tugboat Captain.

Tickets £12 adv from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings and Dice.

aka Williams & Willson, with support from Adam Ross.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings
£17 + bf / £8 concessions for those on low- or no-wages (no questions asked).

Prolific singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams and recently reinvigorated troubadour Dan Willson (aka Withered Hand) are on the road again in support of their collaboration album, ‘Willson Williams’, which came out April 2024 via One Little Independent Records.

Support comes from Adam Ross.

Estimated timings:
Kath & Dan solo sets 8pm
Adam Ross 9pm
Kath & Dan joint set 10pm
11pm finish

KATHRYN WILLIAMS & WITHERED HAND

‘Willson Williams’ witnesses the meeting of two likeminded musicians who’ve built their successful, independent careers on inventive folk instrumentation, reflective and sincere lyricism, and not a small amount of self-deprecation. Their modest confessionals, written poetically and over nostalgic and atmospheric melodies, are as relatable as ever, and together they find new ways to unpack their feelings.

Based in Edinburgh, Scottish indie folk-pop act Withered Hand is the solo project of singer/songwriter Dan Willson. A veteran of multiple bands in late-'90s and early-2000s Edinburgh music scene, Willson began his solo career after receiving an acoustic guitar from his wife as a 30th birthday gift. Migrating slowly from bandmate to solo artist, he began singing and writing his own loose, jangly songs, eventually releasing his debut EP, ‘Religious Songs’, under the moniker Withered Hand. Finding immediate success with the new format, Willson released a second EP in 2009 before teaming up with legendary American producer Kramer to make his first full-length album, ‘Good News’, in 2010.

Kathryn Williams is often described as “a songwriter’s songwriter”, her timeless and searching work has earned her accolades, critical acclaim, and a loyal fan-base. In this new musical world when we talk about an artist’s body of work, we tend to think of a handful of records stretched out across of a handful of years, if we’re lucky. A changing industry and a focus on immediacy has done little to alter such notions, which makes Kathryn Williams something of an anomaly – releasing 12 full-length albums under her own name since her debut LP, ‘Dog Leap Stairs’, released in 1999.

ADAM ROSS

Adam Ross is a songwriter based in north-east Scotland. He has led the cult indie band Randolph's Leap for over a decade, releasing music with independent labels Fika Recordings, Olive Grove Records and King Creosote and Pictish Trail’s Fence Records and Lost Map Records. He released his debut solo album 'Staring At Mountains' in 2022. He is known for his intricate, storytelling lyrical style which often blends humour and poignancy.

May 2024 saw the release of a brand-new solo album produced by multiple Scottish Album Of The Year Award nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wasylyk and released on London label Fika Recordings. Arts bodies Creative Scotland and Help Musicians have supported and funded the album in recognition of what is one of the most exciting musical collaborations of 2024.

I'd planned for having a party for 10 years of Fika Recordings, but lockdowns scuppered that, so we're throwing a little free label party in September - which happens to coincide with my 40th. Come down, hang out, watch some bands, drink some beer.
For those with kids or that can't make it out in the evening or just want to hang out over beers and pizza, the plan is to be in the Pembury Tavern beforehand, 4-7pm.
All welcome!

From 4pm ish: Pembury Tavern
From 7pm ish: Paper Dress Vintage
Bands from 8pm ish: adults + Steven Adams + Jessica's Brother

adults

Combining elements of indie-pop, punk, emo and just a little bit of 2009 vintage math-rock for good measure, adults are four pals trying to find their way in a disintegrating world. Reflecting on how we look after ourselves, one another and people in our community; their songs are a riotous collision reminiscent of Johnny Foreigner, The Beths or Trust Fund, bursting with crunching guitars, speedy drums and yelping dual vocals.

They’ve released singles with Art Is Hard and For The Sakes Of Tapes, and self released an EP (The Weekend Was Always Almost Over), which was subsequently released on vinyl by Caballito records. In October 2022 the band's debut album 'for everything, always' was released by Fika Recordings.

Faster, messier and sillier than they have any right to be, adults are a hopeful and joyous noisy pop band based in South London.

Steven Adams

Steven Adams is a "national musical treasure" (The Guardian) who fronted country pranksters The Broken Family Band throughout the 2000s before calling time on that band at the height of their success. 

He's been ploughing his own furrow ever since, with multiple name changes (Singing Adams, The Singing Adams, Steven James Adams, Steven Adams & The French Drops), and a series of albums ranging from DIY indie rock, intimate folk and - with 2018's Virtue Signals - experiments in krautrock and politically-charged widescreen pop.

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London. His latest album Drops came out in the autumn of 2023.

Jessica’s Brother

Jessica’s Brother are a London trio comprised of songwriter Tom Charleston, Jonny Helm (drums, also of The Wave Pictures) and Charlie Higgs (bass). Channelling the spirit of the Brothers Grimm to create an otherworldly atmosphere, they weave their motley influences together making a rich and eclectic vision, with nods to Silver Jews, Jason Molina, Nick Cave, Richard Thompson and Neil Young. There are themes of joy, anger and silliness in a carefully crafted world with a colourful cast of characters.

The trio formed in October 2016. Jonny and Charlie worked together in a framing business and had often talked about collaborating in a band together. Fate intervened when Jonny’s girlfriend Jessica introduced him to her brother Tom, and they found a songwriter in waiting.

Weaving a variety of influences from jangly indie-rock to gothic country and contemplative psych folk, Jessica’s Brother create the sound of a band coming together and getting caught up in the rush of starting new and enjoyable. The instruments clamber over each other in a small room, with Helm’s distinctive drumming counterbalances the gothic guitar thrums and wailing violin. Already lauded by the likes of The Guardian (for their first ever gig) and the Saatchi Magazine (for their first single), the scene is set for a bright future.

NEW STARTS

New Starts are a spikey, fresh sounding band recalling the poppier ends of new wave and angular guitar rock. Their influences include The Cars, Breeders, Bay City Rollers, The Velvet Underground and ZZ Top.

Lead singer Darren Hayman has his own long career running from the late 90s with John Peel faves Hefner to his more recent thematic and historical albums dealing with the English Civil War, William Morris and forgotten rural idylls.

“I wanted a band again,” says Hayman, “and not a band that just backed me up and played my old songs. When we form our first bands in our teens we just find some friends and work through the musical differences. I usually look for players who play in a way I’m used to. This time I looked for variance and was led by people’s personality.”

Guitarist Joely Smith [of South London’s noise-pop adults and recently DIY-punks Fresh] was recommended by a mutual friend who said, ‘She makes everything better’. Hayman and Smith shared a coffee and agreed on the correct number of guitar pedals and decided to proceed without an audition.

“There is a tendency for me to make my chords too pretty. Joely cuts against that and plays in the opposite direction.” Hayman is a fan of rules and constraints and employed a new, oblique strategy on this record. “Even though I wrote all the songs, I wanted the songs to belong to everyone during arrangement. I decided that I would say ‘yes’ to every suggestion from the band, regardless of my instinct.”

This made the songs warp and bend into new shapes and ensured that the record was the product of four individuals. Bassist Giles Barrett and drummer Will Connor come from funky afro beat influenced band Tigercats. “Pretty much the only rhythm I use, left to my own devices, is the ‘road runner’ rhythm. Will takes to care to find where the drum beat can be and we always end up somewhere I didn’t expect.”

CARLA J EASTON

Carla J. Easton is an award nominated singer-songwriter, releasing 4 critically acclaimed solo albums. She is also a member of TeenCanteen and Poster Paints, and has written songs/music for Belle & Sebastian, BMX Bandits, Hen Hoose & National Theatre Scotland. Championed by BBC6 Music, she has performed at festivals across the UK and internationally (SXSW, Pop Montreal, The Great Escape, Celtic Connections, Indiefjord and Pop Cologne) touring the UK with Camera Obscura, The Vaselines and Kim Richey.

In 2018, she released the SAY Award Shortlisted 'Impossible Stuff’, produced by Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire/British Sea Power/Leonard Cohen) which featured singles that achieved Record of the Day, Guardian Track of the Week and BBC Scotland Single of the Week.

Her third album 'WEIRDO' was released in 2020 via Olive Grove Records - a record that Bandcamp Daily described as “all volume needles buried in the red, glitter bursting from every chorus.” The Line of Best Fit praised its “maximalist” tendencies while hinting that Scotland has found its own answer to the pop titans Carly Rae Jepsen and Taylor Swift and Pitchfork called it “bubblegum pop [with] the scrappy glamour of a homemade theatrical production”.

Her latest project Poster Paints was formed with Simon Liddell (Frightened Rabbit) during 2020. Their critically acclaimed self titled debut album was released by Ernest Jennings October 2022.

Her fourth studio album ‘SUGAR HONEY’ will be released 20th October via Olive Grove Records and features the singles ‘One Week’, ‘Blooming 4U’ and the album title track ‘Sugar Honey’.

BECKON

Beckon are a new band from Faith Taylor (Suggested Friends / Athabaska).

Doors 1930
Beckon 2000
Carla J Easton 2100
New Starts 2200

Doors open 1930
Music from 2000 - 2200

Tickets £15 + bf from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings.
Some £8 concessions are available for those on no- or low-incomes (no questions asked).

Stanley Brinks is renowned for his unique anti-folk style: both playful and suggestive, insightful and entertaining. Brinks was born in Paris, France, in 1973. He studied a bit of biology and worked as a nurse for a while. Half Swedish, half Moroccan, strongly inclined to travel the world, he soon began spending most of his life on the road and developed a strong relationship with New York. By the late 90s he’d become a full time singer-songwriter – André Herman Düne – as part of three piece indie-rock band, Herman Düne. Several albums and Peel sessions later and after a decade of touring Europe, mostly with American songwriters such as Jeffrey Lewis, Calvin Johnson and early Arcade Fire he settled in Berlin. The early carnival music of Trinidad became a passion, and in the early 21st century he became the unquestioned master of European calypso, changing his name to Stanley Brinks. Under this moniker he has recorded more than 100 albums, collaborated with the New York Antifolk scene on several occasions, recorded and toured with traditional Norwegian musicians, and played a lot with The Wave Pictures.

Freschard grew up in a farm in French Burgundy. Aged 18 she moved to Paris, where she baked pies and cakes in a cafe. There, a local musician and regular customer called Stanley Brinks wrote a few songs for her to sing. Homeless in Paris, she saved up just enough money to get herself a ticket to New York. There she found an old electric guitar and started writing her own songs. In 2004 she moved to Berlin, where she recorded her first LP, "Alien Duck". Her second album, "Click Click", recorded in 2006, features electric guitar by Stanley Brinks. On her third album, she plays the drums herself. On her fourth “Shh...” she also plays the flute. For this year’s “Boom Biddy Boom” she also plays the washboard.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings.
£15 adv + booking fees, half price concessions for those on no- or low-wages available.

Mammoth Penguins are a 3-piece indie powerhouse, showcasing the songwriting and vocal talents of Emma Kupa (Standard Fare) backed up by the noisiest rhythm section in indie pop.

May 2024 sees the release of their fourth album Here on Fika Recordings. After 2019’s big, bold and confident There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, and the initial shock of the global pandemic cancelling a trip to SXSW in 2020, the band returned to the studio in the summer of 2021 to start recording.

The new record leans into a raw pop-punk power-trio sound more than ever, with a deep growl in layered guitars and bursts of percussion and harmony. The songs and artwork explore themes about finding a place for yourself and familiarity with people and places. Although it turns back towards a classic three-piece sound, the band weren’t restricted by that palette, adding finishing touches of percussion, extra guitars and backing vocals in short bursts in a garden shed, and also bringing in gorgeous strings to sweeten the title track.

The sound builds on the band’s first album, Hide and Seek, which was released with the much-loved and sorely missed Fortuna POP! in 2015. The follow-up LP John Doe in 2017 was an ambitious concept album, exploring the feelings of loss and anger at a man who fakes his own death only to return years later, expanding well beyond the 3-piece rock‘n’roll template, with washes of strings, synths and samples.

The ‘Penguins have been smashing it at some high-profile support slots in the lead up to this album release, including at Allo Darlin’s joyous reunion at Islington Assembly Hall (Oct 2023) and Muncie Girls last ever London show (Dec 2023). They play the Leicester Indiepop all-dayer and Wales Goes Pop in March, before heading out on tour in support of the new album in May.
Those big singalong choruses need your voice shouting back from the crowd with joy and defiance. 

Mammoth Penguins are Emma Kupa (guitar, vocals), Mark Boxall (bass, vocals) and Tom Barden (drums, vocals). Reminiscent of the pop melodies of The Beths, the indie dissonance of Land of Talk, and the guitar forward slacker rock of Weezer, Mammoth Penguins marry heart-ache indiepop with spiky guitars and Emma’s frank confessional songwriting.

Broken Chanter is the stage name of Glaswegian songwriter David MacGregor. 

Broken Chanter can be MacGregor on his own or, more often than not, with an array of extremely talented musicians joining him. He spent 2007-2017 as the principal songwriter of Scottish Alt-Pop darlings Kid Canaveral - a band that could get you to dance, laugh, and weep all in the space of the same set. Their Debut LP Shouting at Wildlife was described by The Herald as "a Scottish pop classic that should be mandatory in every record collection in the country", and saw the band perform across a large chunk of the western hemisphere, with similarly well-received follow-up Now That You Are a Dancer being long-listed for the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2014.

His brand new album Chorus Of Doubt will burst forth into the world via  Chemikal Underground on 5 April 2024. 

Prior to this incendiary new gem of an LP, MacGregor has released two critically acclaimed albums as Broken Chanter - 2019's eponymous introduction to his new guise (A stunning, stately debut - The Skinny) and 2021's award-winning Catastrophe Hits which peaked at #7 in the Scottish Album Chart, #10 in the UK Vinyl Chart, #16 in the UK Independent Chart, and #29 in the UK Physical Sales Chart.

THE JUST JOANS

We've got indiepop darlings The Just Joans down from Scotland for a rare full band show. Rumour has it there's a new record slowly coming together, but don't let that put you off, they'll play the old ones you like too...

The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Naming the band after Daily Record agony aunt Joan Burnie’s ‘Just Joan’ column, work immediately began on a number of lo-fi tracks dealing with love, rejection and everyday angst. These would eventually emerge as The Just Joans’ debut album, Last Tango In Motherwell. Released in 2006 on tape cassette to a small number of friends, one – Chris Gilmour – was so taken with the collection that he set up his own label, Ivan Lendil Music, specifically to circulate a CD version to a wider audience.

As he advanced from singing sad songs in his bedroom to singing sad songs live, David recruited Chris Elkin as a guitarist. Shortly after, he would add younger sister Katie Pope as a vocalist, alongside bassist Fraser Ford – with all four remaining in the band to this day. Their presence helped to build a reputation on the indiepop scene, and, in 2007, The Just Joans joined WeePOP! Records. During their eight years with the DIY label, they released a series of handmade EPs including Hey Boy...You’re Oh So Sensitive and Love and Other Hideous Accidents. The band also revisited their first LP, rerecording it, reordering it, and retitling it as Buckfast Bottles In The Rain.

Some much-loved band members have come and gone in the time since, not least Doog Cameron, who personified the manner in which The Just Joans tread a fine line between the heartfelt and the dangerous. However, it is the more recent additions, Jason Sweeney on drums and multi-instrumentalist Arion Xenos, that have helped elevate the band to a new level - both in terms of the studio and the stage. Completing the journey from shambling two-piece to accomplished sextet, the band continue to win fans with their mischievous lyrics and tender melodies. Embracing Scottish culture at every turn, the band were perhaps best described by Is This Music as ‘the missing link between The Magnetic Fields and The Proclaimers.’

Since moving to Fika Recordings, The Just Joans have released a variety of singles and, in 2017, You Might Be Smiling Now..., their first new LP in a decade. Much acclaimed in the music press, Highway Queens thought it to be ‘the perfect Glasgow kiss’ while Uncut identified the record as the point at which ‘Stephin Merritt lies down with The Vaselines.’

The band’s new album, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of The Just Joans, was released in January 2020.

WITCHING WAVES

We’re delighted to have Witching Waves back to play for us, following the release of their fourth album Streams and Waterways on Specialist Subject records in December.

A blistering advancement of the knife-sharp hooks and urgently efficient post-punk structures that they’ve spent over a decade refining since their formation in 2011, the band’s fourth album – and second on Specialist Subject - emerges from a period of flux for the band’s chief songwriting partnership of Emma Wigham (drums/vocals) and Mark Jasper (guitar/vocals).

“Streams and Waterways is about the struggle of looking at the clock, realising it’s actually going pretty damn fast and knowing that really you have no control over anything” Jasper confirms. Perhaps that explains the way that opener The Valley doesn’t even introduce itself before careering into a full-throttled, three-minute scuzzy rager that would approach the descriptor anthemic had it not been kicked and scuffed along the way; it’s maybe why the wiry, ferocious Choice You Make feels like a charge into a storm despite the uncertainty of what you might find. It’s perhaps why even when Witching Waves allow themselves respite on the pared down Open A Hole, there’s a churning anxiety that lies below the acoustic guitar and harmonising vocals: in many ways musically and thematically Witching Waves are relinquishing the control that’s always been a fixture of their music – with all the thrilling and nervous fallout that comes from that.

NATHY SG

Nathy SG is led by Nathan Stephens-Griffin, a founding member of Onsind, drummer in Fortitude Valley, and a member of DIY punk legends. Martha.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings, including cheaper 3 day passes (Jan 11-13), and reduced price tickets for those on no or low-wages (no questions asked).

THE RESEARCH

It's the return of The Research! Wakefield's finest indie trio played their first show at Long Division this summer since 2008 or so, and we're delighted to have them down to The Lexington in 2024.

The Research are Russell 'The Disaster' Searle (vocals/guitar/synthesizers), Georgia Lashbrook (bass/vocals/harmonica), and Sarah Williams (drums/vocals).
”bedroom-crafted Blue Peter pop is stacked with stories of teen romance and subsequent broken hearts - it's an approach that recalls the Young Marble Giants and the Vaselines” The Guardian

ADAM ROSS

Adam Ross is the defacto band leader of Scottish alt-pop ensemble Randolph’s Leap. He’ll be appearing at The Lexington to debut songs from his forthcoming solo album.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings, including cheaper 3 day passes (Jan 11-13), and reduced price tickets for those on no or low-wages (no questions asked).

PANIC POCKET

Panic Pocket are recognised for their cathartic musical storytelling about shaking off bad relationships, the life-changing nature of female-friendship and the perils of online dating, "delivered with a wry sense of humour and an undeniable charm” – For the Rabbits.

EX-VÖID

Ex-Vöid are a “Power Pop” group who make music so jangly, so melodic, that it could be considered nationally threatening and potentially illegal under current U.K legislation. Critics have compared them to Teenage Fanclub, The Lemonheads & Lucinda Williams , but they claim to exclusively take influence from Black Sabbath’s “Into the Void”, The Raincoat’s “The Void” and the Washington DC hardcore punk group VOID.

Ex-Vöid was formed in 2018 by Alanna McArdle and Owen “O” Williams from the punk group Joanna Gruesome. During McArdle’s time in Joanna Gruesome, the band toured internationally, received acclaim from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and The Observer, were playlisted on BBC 6 Music and won the 2014 Welsh Music Prize. Ex-Vöid was formed after the pair reunited, having unexpectedly attended the same contemporary dance class. Since forming, Ex-Vöid have been creating similar waves, touring with groups such as Waxahatchee and Speedy Ortiz, as well as gaining attention from 6 Music and publications such as The Fader, Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum.

NEW STARTS

A brand new 4 piece (members of The French, Tigercats, and adults), they've individually appeared across about a dozen Fika releases to date, and we've got an album coming from the four of them in 2024...

SCHANDE

A London trio, Schande are known for writing discordantly catchy, melodic indie rock- that joyous blend of 90s indie at its best, mixed with a unique element of the unknown. Jen’s take on Schande’s sound is simple: “We’re not story tellers- the music is landscape where literal meaning is irrelevant. We’re inspired by memory, by experience and by those undefined tangents and planes linking the two. Those tensions between space and location- that’s what we soundtrack.”

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings, including cheaper 3 day passes (Jan 11-13), and reduced price tickets for those on no or low-wages (no questions asked).

The David Tattersall Group is a new project from David Tattersall of The Wave Pictures and The Surfing Magazines. And check out his group. You got ‘Wailin’ Dom Brider (The Surfing Magazines) laying down his soulful sounds on his harmonica. You got fiddlin’ Dan Mayfield (Darren Hayman), bona fide countrified. You got honky-tonkin’ Paul Rains (Allo' Darlin') on the piano. But you know all that ain’t worth diddly squat if you ain’t got that country groove… that’s where Bo-Diddlin’ David Beauchamp (Jeffrey Lewis) comes in, super cool like on the drums. Yeah, it’s a hell of a band, The David Tattersall Group.

Support comes from Bill Botting & The Two Drinks Minimums.

First there was Paul McCartney, Phil Lynott and Lemmy, and now Bill Botting swells the esteemed ranks of bass-players-with-moustaches-come-charismatic-front-men. He gathered a supergroup of siblings and indie legends including Allo Darlin’ bandmate Paul Rains, Jonny Helm from The Wave Pictures, Tom Wade from Owl & Mouse, Laura K from Tigercats, Darren Hayman from Darren Hayman and Hannah Botting from home, to record his debut solo album Better Friends - an album simply described as indie mixed with country, or country mixed with indie. Or like if Lou Reed went to a Linda Ronstadt Concert in 1988 and decided to have a change of direction.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings and from SeeTickets.

Tickets £22 + £1 venue restoration levy + booking fee

NOW FULLY SOLD OUT
We’ve been overwhelmed by the level of support for Allo Darlin’s first show for seven years, to sell out The Dome in those first few minutes on sale means the world - thank you.
Given the growing waiting list for tickets, with the number of people that wanted to come but missed out on tickets, we’ve decided to move the show to a larger venue to allow us to share the moment with a few more of you.
The gig moves from The Dome down to the road to Islington Assembly Hall (N1 2UD). Same date and time: Saturday 28th October from 7pm - 11pm.
All tickets remain valid - but if you’re unable to make it to Islington Assembly Hall instead of The Dome, then please contact your ticket provider to arrange a refund.
Unfortunately, while The Dome’s licensing allowed the gig to originally be 14+, the show will now be 16+ only at Islington Assembly Hall. If you have a ticket and will be 15 or under on the date of the show, please get in touch to arrange a refund.
- Fika Recordings & Allo Darlin'

ALLO DARLIN’

Allo Darlin’ began as a vehicle for the solo songwriting exploits of Elizabeth Morris. Australian by birth, Morris moved to London, England in 2005, where she began making recordings under the name the Darlings. Morris would only release one disc under this name, a three-track affair called The Photo EP, which came out on the U.K.-based indie pop label WeePOP! in late 2007. Morris changed the project’s name to Allo Darlin’ the following year.

In a 2010 interview, Morris explained that she got the band name from her time working in Soho. “I used to work near the market sellers,” she said. “Every day I’d walk past and the old guys would yell out “Allo darlin'” as they ashed into their fruit bowls.” She self-released a Christmas-themed EP, Merry Christmas from Allo Darlin’, shortly before 2008 came to a close. A few months later, in early 2009, the lineup of Allo Darlin’ expanded to include two members of Hexicon, guitarist Paul Rains (who first began working with Morris when the two recorded a cover of Bruce Springsteen‘s ‘Atlantic City’) and drummer Michael Collins, along with Moustache of Insanity‘s Will Harrison on bass (though he was soon replaced by Bill Botting.)

The newly formed quartet released its first single, ‘Henry Rollins Don’t Dance’ that summer. Fortuna Pop signed the band soon after, and Allo Darlin‘ saw a couple of singles on that label in short order (2009’s ‘The Polaroid Song’ and 2010’s ‘Dreaming’, which featured a cameo by the Pipettes‘ Monster Bobby). The band’s self-titled debut full-length, produced by Simon Trought, was released on Fortuna Pop in the summer of 2010. After a fairly quiet 2011 that saw only the self-release of the ‘Darren”/”The Wu-Tang Clan’ single, the band returned with a new album in spring of 2012. Europe was released by Fortuna Pop in the U.K. and Slumberland in the U.S. They spent the next year touring before heading back into the studio to record their third album. We Come from the Same Place was released in October of 2014.

“Classic indie pop” – Pitchfork

“Sophisticated pop music at its finest” – All Music

“Between the bounce of the lighter numbers and the ache of the sweet ones, there’s all manner of winningly realistic insights veiled underneath the music” – BBC Music

A national musical treasure" The Guardian

Steven Adams, formerly of The Broken Family Band, releases new album DROPS on Fika Recordings in November 2023 - and will be showcasing the new record at The Lexington with an all-too-rare full band show.

DROPS is a sonically compelling piece of work: from bleak/exultant opener Out to Sea and the motorik Living in the Local Void to the weirdly funereal Fascists (where Adams imagines the "little skip in our steps" that we'll have upon outliving some baddies), and Day Trip's psychedelia in miniature. There are also moments of tenderness: the avalanche of empathy on closing track Cheap Wine Sad Face, and I Tried to Keep it Light's "worse things could happen" I don't know how, but give me time".

Adams says: "I'm preoccupied by the passing of time and the way it affects how we feel. This record is about time and bewilderment and trying to make sense of things".

Since calling time on TBFB at the height of their success, Adams has released half a dozen albums under various names (Singing Adams, Steven James Adams, Steven Adams & The French Drops), his witty, incisive lyrics and melodic sensibilities taking in DIY indie rock, folky introspection, and off-kilter pop hooks.

Support comes from Emma Tricca.

"It felt like I was driving through tunnels," Emma Tricca says of her fourth album - her first for Bella Union. A phosphorescent panorama of undulating colour, shape and sound.

As with any transformation, it is this sense of movement that underpins Aspirin Sun and its bold new form, ebbing and flowing, continually unfurling. The tunnels led the Italian-born, London-based singer-songwriter towards something expansive and far-reaching: an entirely new and experimental collection of songs. But they also drew her closer to her late father, and her memories of him driving them both in his small white Fiat, darting through the Alps and whizzing through darkened passageways, where shafts of light flickered ahead of them in the distance.

CANCELLED. Please get in touch with your ticket vendor if you’ve not received notification of a refund.

Due to unexpected circumstances, Poster Paints have had to withdraw from the co-headline tour in September, and the dates have been cancelled. Refunds are available from the point of purchase.

Thanks again for your understanding.

Tickets £10+bf from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings and Dice.

JEANINES

Jeanines specialize in ultra-short bursts of energetic but melancholy minor-key pop. With influences that run deep into the most crucial tributaries of DIY pop — Messthethics, the Television Personalities, Marine Girls, early Pastels, Dolly Mixture — they've crafted a style that is as individual as it is just plain pleasurable. Alicia Jeanine's pure, unaffected voice muses wistfully on the illusions of time, while My Teenage Stride/Mick Trouble mastermind Jed Smith's frantic Motown-esque drumming and inventive bass playing provide a thrilling rhythmic foundation. On stage, harmonies and bass from Maggie Gaster (Yucky Duster) crystallize Jeanines' live sound.

MT. MISERY

Hartlepool indie-pop trio Mt. Misery released their debut album 'Once Home, No Longer' via Prefect Records (Ex-Void, The Natvral) in summer 2021,alongside a long-since sold-out limited edition Rough Trade Exclusive vinyl. A new EP supported by the PRS Foundation’s ‘Open Fund’ was released in August 2022, featuring the single ‘Spinning Top’.

Prefect Records label head Mark Dobson (The Field Mice) was sanguine about how the label came to be releasing Mt. Misery’s album: “I wasn’t looking for a ‘token’ band from the same town as me, they could have been from anywhere in the world and I would still want to put their album out. I could hear elements of The Field Mice and a couple of other Sarah Records bands in there, but also early Belle and Sebastian and peak period Teenage Fanclub - to be honest, it sounds like loads of bands I like, but without really sounding specifically like any of them."

GARDEN CENTRE

https://gardencentre.bandcamp.com/album/a-moon-for-digging-2

Darren Hayman’s new band play new songs.

Darren Hayman
Best known as the singer-songwriter of the phenomenally successful and much-loved Hefner, Darren Hayman is now 15 years, and over 14 albums, into an increasingly idiosyncratic career path, where he has taken a singular and erratic route through England’s tired and heartbroken underbelly. Darren is also writing the best tunes of his career; increasingly complex and mature songs, he is a thoughtful, concise and detailed songwriter.

Hayman’s first two solo albums, Table For One (2006) and The Secondary Modern (2007), charmed the critics – with The Guardian opining that Hayman’s profoundly English songwriting was “the match of Ray Davies”. Mostly joined by his band The Secondary Modern – a loose, urban folk collective, underpinning Hayman’s concrete sorrow with rural violins and tired pianos – he has released a series of albums, largely focused on place. This allowed for the exploration of nuanced subjects in detail, with a trio of albums based in Essex (2009’s Pram Town and 2010’s Essex Arms) and culminating in 2012’s The Violence, a 20 song account of the 17th century Essex witch trials. From this he developed an album of English Civil War folk songs of the time (2013’s Bugbears) and stayed with the historical theme for Chants For Socialists, which saw him set William Morris’ words to music, creating an album of kindness and hope that brought Hayman’s most critical acclaim yet.

In 2016 Darren was awarded ‘Hardest Working Musician’ by the Association of Independent Music for his epic project on Thankful Villages, the 55 villages that survived the Great War with no casualties. 12 Astronauts tells the personal story of the only men to have walked on the Moon.
hefnet.com

Ethical Debating Society
The Ethical Debating Society (aka tEDS) are a London DIY grrrlcore threepiece straight from the same underground scene that birthed Shopping, ILL and Big Joanie. They've shared stages with everyone from 90s heroes Bis, Lungleg and Prolapse, to ageless 80s legends Shonen Knife and the Nightingales, and released music on HHBTM, Tuff Enuff and Odd Box Records. Likened to a combination of CRASS and the Shangri-Las, tEDS' brand of deconstructed noise pop blends hardcore, art-punk and post-everything dissension.
https://theethicaldebatingsociety.bandcamp.com

Adv tickets £12 + bf, cheaper low/unwaged tickets available, all from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

Stanley Brinks began performing officially as André Herman Düne in 1999, sharing lead vocals, guitar playing and songwriting with his brother David in the band Herman Düne for a number of years. They released several albums and toured extensively in UK, gaining and owing a lot to great support from John Peel. He has used many monikers for various side-projects, but since leaving Herman Düne in 2006, he has been known solely as Stanley Brinks. Born in Paris, Stan has been living between New York, San Francisco, Malta and Berlin for about a decade, always on the move. He has recorded more than 100 albums, collaborated with the New York Antifolk scene on several occasions, recorded and toured with traditional Norwegian musicians, and played a lot with The Wave Pictures.

Freschard grew up in a farm in French Burgundy. Aged 18 she moved to Paris, where she baked pies and cakes in a cafe. There, a local musician and regular customer called Stanley Brinks wrote a few songs for her to sing. Homeless in Paris, she saved up just enough money to get herself a ticket to New York. There she found an old electric guitar and started writing her own songs. In 2004 she moved to Berlin, where she recorded her first LP, "Alien Duck". Her second album, "Click Click", recorded in 2006, features electric guitar by Stanley Brinks. On her third album, she plays the drums herself. On her fourth “Shh...” she also plays the flute.

Tickets from https://www.wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £14 adv + bf from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes also available. Sold out!

Winter Sprinter 2023 Spotify playlist here

BALLBOY

Favourites of the late John Peel, who invited them to perform five sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show 2000-2004 as well as featured them many times in his Festive Fifty chart, ballboy are a cult indie-pop band from Edinburgh whose warm, whimsical and savagely witty speak-sung songs about bored sex, DIY drugs, civic shame and polar bears helped to define a generation of fiercely independent Scottish music around the turn of the millennium.

ballboy are Gordon McIntyre, together with Nick Reynolds (bass), Gary Morgan (drums) and Alexa Morrison (keys, vocals), the latter of whom joined the band in 2004, replacing original keyboardist Katie Griffiths (pictured above). Evoking shades of The Wedding Present, The Field Mice, Arab Strap and Billy Bragg, Club Anthems 2001 helped to break ballboy to an international audience and saw the band go on to tour widely around the US and Europe, as well as release four full-length albums – A Guide for the Daylight Hours (2002), The Sash My Father Wore and Other Stories (2003), The Royal Theatre (2004) and I Worked on the Ships (2008).

THE JUST JOANS

A stripped back set from The Just Joans, with Katie, David and Fraser.

The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Naming the band after Daily Record agony aunt Joan Burnie’s ‘Just Joan’ column, work immediately began on a number of lo-fi tracks dealing with love, rejection and everyday angst. As he advanced from singing sad songs in his bedroom to singing sad songs live, David recruited Chris Elkin as a guitarist. Shortly after, he would add younger sister Katie Pope as a vocalist, alongside bassist Fraser Ford – with all four remaining in the band to this day. It is the more recent additions, Jason Sweeney on drums and multi-instrumentalist Arion Xenos, that have helped elevate the band to a new level - both in terms of the studio and the stage. Completing the journey from shambling two-piece to accomplished sextet, the band continue to win fans with their mischievous lyrics and tender melodies. Embracing Scottish culture at every turn, the band were perhaps best described by Is This Music as ‘the missing link between The Magnetic Fields and The Proclaimers.’

ALISON EALES

Alison is a long-standing member of the band Butcher Boy, playing piano, accordion and other keyboards as well as arranging for choir and brass. The band have made three studio albums: Profit in Your Poetry (2007), React or Die (2009) and Helping Hands (2011). All of these albums have been well-received, with React or Die featuring in The Times’ top 100 pop albums of the 2000s. The band have also released two EPs. A compilation album, You Had A Kind Face, was released on Needle Mythology in 2022, along with three new songs, with tracks mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road. Butcher Boy have supported bands including Belle and Sebastian, Scritti Politti and The Wedding Present.

An all-ages matinee show, from 13:30 - 16:00.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £14 adv + bf from WeGotTickets. Under 18s are free - but must be accompanied by an adult. Please note The Lexington’s licensing terms require all under 18s to be off the premises before 17:00.

Winter Sprinter 2023 Spotify playlist here

BALLBOY

Favourites of the late John Peel, who invited them to perform five sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show 2000-2004 as well as featured them many times in his Festive Fifty chart, ballboy are a cult indie-pop band from Edinburgh whose warm, whimsical and savagely witty speak-sung songs about bored sex, DIY drugs, civic shame and polar bears helped to define a generation of fiercely independent Scottish music around the turn of the millennium.

ballboy are Gordon McIntyre, together with Nick Reynolds (bass), Gary Morgan (drums) and Alexa Morrison (keys, vocals), the latter of whom joined the band in 2004, replacing original keyboardist Katie Griffiths (pictured above). Evoking shades of The Wedding Present, The Field Mice, Arab Strap and Billy Bragg, Club Anthems 2001 helped to break ballboy to an international audience and saw the band go on to tour widely around the US and Europe, as well as release four full-length albums – A Guide for the Daylight Hours (2002), The Sash My Father Wore and Other Stories (2003), The Royal Theatre (2004) and I Worked on the Ships (2008).

THE JUST JOANS

A stripped back set from The Just Joans, with Katie, David and Fraser.

The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Naming the band after Daily Record agony aunt Joan Burnie’s ‘Just Joan’ column, work immediately began on a number of lo-fi tracks dealing with love, rejection and everyday angst. As he advanced from singing sad songs in his bedroom to singing sad songs live, David recruited Chris Elkin as a guitarist. Shortly after, he would add younger sister Katie Pope as a vocalist, alongside bassist Fraser Ford – with all four remaining in the band to this day. It is the more recent additions, Jason Sweeney on drums and multi-instrumentalist Arion Xenos, that have helped elevate the band to a new level - both in terms of the studio and the stage. Completing the journey from shambling two-piece to accomplished sextet, the band continue to win fans with their mischievous lyrics and tender melodies. Embracing Scottish culture at every turn, the band were perhaps best described by Is This Music as ‘the missing link between The Magnetic Fields and The Proclaimers.’

ALISON EALES

Alison is a long-standing member of the band Butcher Boy, playing piano, accordion and other keyboards as well as arranging for choir and brass. The band have made three studio albums: Profit in Your Poetry (2007), React or Die (2009) and Helping Hands (2011). All of these albums have been well-received, with React or Die featuring in The Times’ top 100 pop albums of the 2000s. The band have also released two EPs. A compilation album, You Had A Kind Face, was released on Needle Mythology in 2022, along with three new songs, with tracks mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road. Butcher Boy have supported bands including Belle and Sebastian, Scritti Politti and The Wedding Present.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £14 adv + bf from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes also available.

Full band performances from Withered Hand and from Randolph’s Leap.

Winter Sprinter 2023 Spotify playlist here

WITHERED HAND

Withered Hand is the creative output of Edinburgh-based musician Dan Willson.

A cult figure in the Scottish music scene since 2009, Dan has released two widely acclaimed albums, New Gods (2014) and Good News (2009) and several lo-fi EPs and has toured extensively, both solo and with his band, and with the likes of King Creosote, Kris Drever, James Yorkston, Scott Hutchison/Frightened Rabbit.

A third Withered Hand album was recorded in 2022 and is set for release via Reveal Records in early 2023.

RANDOLPH’S LEAP

Randolph’s Leap started out as a pseudonym for the solo output of Adam Ross, and now includes up to 8 people in the full live band. The debut Randolph’s Leap album, Clumsy Knot, came out in 2014, with another four live and studio albums and a handful of singles across labels Fence Collective, Olive Grove Records and Lost Map. In 2018 a touring theatre show called The Isle of Love was devised around the songs of Randolph’s Leap.

THE LITTLE HANDS OF ASPHALT

After two extremely well received albums, main man Sjur Lyseid just let the project quietly fizzle out, choosing to rather work as a producer and co-writer of other people’s music. With Half Empty he’s back doing what he does best, writing lyrically dense, classic pop songs, that range from low key acoustic numbers, through deeply orchestrated arrangements, to snappy, catchy guitar pop.

Although the record is self produced and mixed, and even largely performed by Lyseid himself, it’s not an album that springs for indulgent sonic experimentation or lo-fi excursions. The songs are rather presented in a tasteful, timeless manner, which means The Little Hands of Asphalt isn’t reaching for a current radio pop sound, nor any specific subgenre. There are elements of folk, power pop and even kraut, and nods to Serge Gainsbourgh or Brian Wilson, but Half Empty is not album that regurgitates any specific influence or time period. Still, in a sense, it feels like these songs have always just been there.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £11 adv + bf from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes also available.

Winter Sprinter 2023 Spotify playlist here

STEVEN ADAMS AND THE FRENCH DROPS

Steven Adams is a "national musical treasure" (The Guardian) who fronted country pranksters The Broken Family Band throughout the 2000s before calling time on that band at the height of their success. 

He's been ploughing his own furrow ever since, with multiple name changes (Singing Adams, The Singing Adams, Steven James Adams, Steven Adams & The French Drops), and a series of albums ranging from DIY indie rock, intimate folk and - with 2018's Virtue Signals - experiments in krautrock and politically-charged widescreen pop.

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London. His latest album with The French Drops - Keep it Light -  is out now.

FLIGHT MODE

Flight Mode is an all star band of sorts from the burgeoning Oslo, Norway indie rock scene, with members from Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson, Dråpe and The Little Hands of Asphalt,  and is ripe with experience. But it's not the experience or former glory that has seen their two EP's of classic, slightly nostalgic emo rock make waves in the international community, but rather their joyous playfulness, their intuitive and uncomplicated understanding of the genre, and songwriting of the highest caliber. Which has resulted in releases on a credible American label, touring England and a decent amount of hype from British and American music press, including Pitchfork, Paste and Upset Magazine.

ADULTS

adults are a noisy pop band desperately clinging on to the ghosts of 2009. Their songs are a silly, joyful, and occasionally sad, look back at the tail end of their 20s, a way to grapple with breakups, parties, alcohol and loneliness, and looking hopefully into the future.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £11 adv + bf from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes also available.

Winter Sprinter 2023 Spotify playlist here

THE LEAF LIBRARY

The Leaf Library are a north London band playing experimental dream-like music built on layers of chiming guitars, pulsing electronics, noise and looping drones. They have released three studio albums (Daylight Versions, About Minerals and The World Is A Bell), a collaborative LP with Japanese artist Teruyuki Kurihara (Melody Tomb), and a recent double LP of rarities and compilation tracks (Library Music: Volume One). 

The band formed in the mid 2000s around singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton. After the departure of original drummer Rob Smoughton (Hot Chip, Black Peaches) the band (including bass player Gareth Jones of Wintergreen) recruited drummer Lewis Young, guitarist SJ Nelson and singer/percussionist Melinda Bronstein, releasing their debut Daylight Versions (5* - The Guardian) in 2015.

The World Is A Bell was released in 2019 and gained reviews from, amongst others, Uncut (“World-weary yet innocent, blissful dreampop”, 8/10), The Quietus (“an expansive and rich listening experience, full of wandering basslines and disorientating rhythms”) and Electronic Sound (“brims full of their slowly rolling blend of drone pop... a real pleasure to explore”). 

In their live shows the carefully constructed and occasionally delicate sound world of their records is replaced by a much noisier and intense experience, helped by the addition of an ever-evolving collective of musicians including saxophonist Daniel Fordham (The Drink, Steven Adams and the French Drops), flugelhorn player Laura Copsey and Mike Cranny, both of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations. 

On their studio albums the band have collaborated with musicians as diverse as Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele, singer Ed Dowie, noise group Far Rainbow and string collective Iskra Strings, and have provided music for a number of exhibitions, films and performances. Over the last few years they have released five Monument CDRs; an on-going series of experimental solo and side projects on their Objects Forever imprint. 

LANDE HEKT

Lande Hekt’s natural state of being is in the writing of a song. Having crafted politically aware, heart-on-sleeve, punchy yet tender, punk-flecked songs with her band Muncie Girls, Lande turned her hand to an even more personal songwriting approach as she embarked on writing a solo record - 2021’s ‘Going to Hell’. The debut full-length documented her experience coming out as gay. It set out her stall as a solo artist with supreme storytelling abilities and a knack for understatedly luminous melodies.

With her debut album barely a year old, 2022 sees Lande armed with a whole new collection of song-form vignettes and musings on her life and experiences.

JESSICA’S BROTHER

Jessica’s Brother are a London trio comprised of songwriter Tom Charleston, Jonny Helm (drums, also of The Wave Pictures) and Charlie Higgs (bass). Channelling the spirit of the Brothers Grimm to create an otherworldly atmosphere, they weave their motley influences together making a rich and eclectic vision, with nods to Silver Jews, Jason Molina, Nick Cave, Richard Thompson and Neil Young. There are themes of joy, anger and silliness in a carefully crafted world with a colourful cast of characters.

The trio formed in October 2016. Jonny and Charlie worked together in a framing business and had often talked about collaborating in a band together. Fate intervened when Jonny’s girlfriend Jessica introduced him to her brother Tom, and they found a songwriter in waiting.

Weaving a variety of influences from jangly indie-rock to gothic country and contemplative psych folk, Jessica’s Brother create the sound of a band coming together and getting caught up in the rush of starting new and enjoyable. The instruments clamber over each other in a small room, with Helm’s distinctive drumming counterbalances the gothic guitar thrums and wailing violin. Already lauded by the likes of The Guardian (for their first ever gig) and the Saatchi Magazine (for their first single), the scene is set for a bright future.

RESCHEDULED DATE - ALL ORIGINAL TICKETS REMAIN VALID. PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF VENUE - THIS SHOW NOW TAKES PLACE AT MOTH CLUB AND THE EARLY START/FINISH TIMES.
Please contact your ticket seller if you’re unable to make the new dates for a refund.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve thirteeen bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of Moth Club.

Tickets £12 adv + bf from Dice and from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes exclusively from WeGotTickets.

It’s the last EVER Tigercats show - come on down and relive the glory of everything from 2012’s Isle of Dogs through to 2022’s New Works.

TIGERCATS
Tigercats are a kalimba-led psychedelic pop band from East London.
Having honed his songwriting craft in the short-lived but much much-missed Esiotrot, in 2010, Duncan Barrett went about forming a new band and recruited sibling/long-time producer Giles Barrett (bass), talented songstress Laura Kovic (keys) and rhythmic powerhouse Jonny (drums), as well as Paul Rains (guitar, of Allo Darlin' fame).

FORTITUDE VALLEY
Fortitude Valley is a brand new project for the songwriting talents of Durham based Brisbanite Laura Kovic. Having spent the majority of her musical career playing keyboards in other people’s bands, bringing their songs to life with a melodic flourish, it was about time for Laura K to find an outlet for her songs: awkward power-pop that’s bound to appeal to fans of The Beths, Weezer or The Weakerthans. She’s assembled quite the band too: Martha’s Daniel Ellis on lead guitar and Nathan Stephens Griffin on drums, and Night Flowers’ Greg Ullyart on bass.

MOUSTACHE OF INSANITY
Moustache of Insanity have been making music since late 2008 (until they stopped around 2012) and have played more than 60 shows in the UK, Europe and in the US. The band consists of Nik Vestberg and Bill Botting (who also plays bass with Allo Darlin' and with Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern), a Swede and an Australian with a shared passion for DIY music (pop, antifolk, punk you name it). Using a variety of vintage casio keyboards, gameboys, electric guitar and drum machines, they play pop songs, sometimes silly, sometimes serious, but always catchy and straight from the heart.

COMMON OR GARDEN
Time stands still for no-one. Talented young Brisbanite Hannah Winter (née Botting) has taken a step aside from the much-loved Owl & Mouse to present her solo project Common or Garden.
A step forward from her previous acoustic based & ukulele led outfit, Common or Garden is self described as ‘scrappy’ synth pop - self produced and more experimental than her previous outfit. The core of her songwriting charm remains: vociferously personal stories, resonating harmonies and layers of vocals to lose yourself in.

Tickets on the door £15

18: 15 Doors open
18:45 Common or Garden
19:30 Moustache of Insanity
20:15 Fortitude Valley
21:00 Tigercats
22:30 music curfew, then we’ll all be heading to Paper Dress Vintage (a 3 minute walk) for drinks into the night and a free entry italo disco clubnight….

RESCHEDULED DATE - ALL ORIGINAL TICKETS REMAIN VALID.
Please contact your ticket seller if you’re unable to make the new dates for a refund.

Jessica’s Brother can’t make the new dates - we’ll be announcing the final addition to the line-up shortly.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £12 adv + bf from Dice and from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes exclusively from WeGotTickets.

DARREN HAYMAN
Best known as the singer-songwriter of the phenomenally successful and much-loved Hefner, Darren Hayman is now 15 years, and over 14 albums, into an increasingly idiosyncratic career path, where he has taken a singular and erratic route through England’s tired and heartbroken underbelly. Darren is also writing the best tunes of his career; increasingly complex and mature songs, he is a thoughtful, concise and detailed songwriter.

EMMA KUPA
Emma Kupa currently fronts Mammoth Penguins, and The Hayman Kupa Band alongside Darren Hayman. She initially made her name with Standard Fare, whom called it a day at the peak of their success in 2013. Her insightful warmth, eye for lyrical detail and powerful, idiosyncratic voice has made her a firm favourite amongst fans and critics alike.

BILL BOTTING & THE TWO DRINK MINIMUMS

Returning all the way from Australia, it's Bill Botting! You'll know Bill from Allo Darlin' and Moustache of Insanity. His debut album Better Friends is simply described as indie mixed with country, or country mixed with indie. Or like if Lou Reed went to a Linda Ronstadt Concert in 1988 and decided to have a change of direction.

Tickets on the door £15

19: 00 Doors open
19:45 Bill Botting & The Two Drink Minimums
20:30 Emma Kupa
21:30 Darren Hayman
22:30 all downstairs to the bar before you can go back upstairs for dancing until the wee hours

RESCHEDULED DATE - ALL ORIGINAL TICKETS REMAIN VALID.
Please contact your ticket seller if you’re unable to make the new dates for a refund.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £12 adv + bf from Dice and from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes exclusively from WeGotTickets.

MAMMOTH PENGUINS
For the uninitiated, Mammoth Penguins are a 3-piece indie pop powerhouse, showcasing the songwriting and vocal talents of Emma Kupa (Standard Fare, The Hayman Kupa Band) backed up by the noisiest rhythm section in indie pop.
The sound is big, bold and confident, but maintaining Emma’s candid, heartfelt, confessional style of songwriting, and the jubilant power pop hooks that make Mammoth Penguins so special.

BREAKUP HAIRCUT
This ragtag team came together from across the wilds of London to play their own brand of angsty and/or spooky punk - defined by fierce basslines, humorously relatable lyrics, and a legitimate, concerted effort not to play the same three drumbeats over and over again. With heart, power, and oh so many feelings, this quartet one day hopes to master the art of playing really, REALLY fast. 
 Though initially formed for First Timers Fest 2019, they've continued to solve mysteries, play shows, and make pals across London and the South East.

FIRESTATIONS

Firestations is Mike, Laura, Martin, Giles and Tom. They write alt-pop songs then paint over them with drones, vocal harmonies, electronica and sometimes unusual rhythms.

Tickets on the door £15

19: 30 Doors open
20:15 Firestations
21:00 Breakup Haircut
22:00 Mammoth Penguins
23:00 all downstairs to the bar for a nightcap

RESCHEDULED DATE - ALL ORIGINAL TICKETS REMAIN VALID.
Please contact your ticket seller if you’re unable to make the new dates for a refund.

UPDATE June 19th: Unfortunately, following a family bereavement in the band, Steven Adams and The French Drops have had to pull out of Wednesday’s show at The Lexington.

We’re devastated for them, and send them our condolences at this difficult time.

If you’d bought a ticket specifically to see Steven Adams & The French Drops, please get in touch with WeGotTickets or Dice to arrange a refund.

The show must go on though - and we’re delighted to be able to introduce our new headliners: THE WAVE PICTURES. 

We’re hugely grateful to them to be able to make this last minute addition, and hugely excited to see them play in the intimate surrounds of The Lexington again.

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter! Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Tickets £12 adv + bf from Dice and from WeGotTickets. Cheaper 4 day passes exclusively from WeGotTickets.

THE WAVE PICTURES
The Wave Pictures are David Tattersall, Franic Rozycki and Jonny “Huddersfield” Helm. Formed in 1998 when Franic and David lived in a village called Wymeswold, the band played with several drummers until Jonny became a permanent member in 2003 replacing Hugh J Noble. In the beginning the band learned to play together by covering Jonathan Richman songs but soon David was writing lots of original material. They have since released five studio albums to critical acclaim and played numerous sessions on BBC 6 Music, Radio 1 and Xfm. The interest generated by these recordings has enabled The Wave Pictures to play shows all over the world with artists including Jeffrey Lewis, Darren Hayman, Stanley Brinks, Freschard and Herman Dune.

CRAKE
An alt-folk four piece from the city of Leeds in northern England, Crake write melodic and (sometimes) hopeful songs about flora, fauna, anxiety and the tough stuff. Formed on the cusp of 2016/17 after a New Year’s Eve pact, Crake spent their first couple of years playing locally with loose-line-up changes and self-releasing two EPs, toured Europe with Big Thief and released with Saddle Creek records.

ATHABASKA
Athabaska are a dreamy alt-folk/indie group fronted by Suggested Friends’ Faith, a joy of heart-warming shimmering folk-strewn musicality and luscious sweeping harmonies

Tickets on the door £15
19: 30 Doors open
20:15 Athabaska
21:00 Crake
22:00 The Wave Pictures
23:00 all downstairs to the bar for a nightcap

An End of the Road festival warm up show, showcasing Darren's recent album Home Time and songs from throughout his career.
With support from Common or Garden.

Tickets £10+bf adv via WeGotTickets or Dice.

Covid19:
Please check and follow the latest NHS and government guidance on Covid.
We encourage everyone to take a free NHS lateral flow test before coming to the gig, and if positive, seek a PCR test and isolate as per the current government guidelines.
If you are displaying Covid symptoms, please do not come to the venue. If you're unable to attend having been asked to self-isolate or as a result of a positive PCR test, please get in touch and we'll organise a refund of your ticket.
We'd encourage you to wear a mask moving around the venue if you wish to, and to be considerate to everyone else attending.

Unsurprisingly, this show has been cancelled due to Covid19. If you’d purchased an advance ticket, then you should already have received a refund. Let us know if that isn’t the case and we’ll chase up.

Darren Hayman presents songs from his latest album “Home Time”.

UPDATE

Unfortunately we’ve had to cancel this show. Jeanines had already had to pull out, following the cancellation of Madrid Popfest and then the transatlantic flight ban. In the current environment it feels an unnecessary risk and have taken the prudent decision to cancel the show.
We hope to have all three bands on a Fika line up sometime soon.
Apologies one and all.

Fika Recordings presents a free show at The Shacklewell Arms!
Tickets from Dice.

Jeanines
Brooklyn's Jeanines specialize in ultra-short bursts of energetic but melancholy minor-key pop. With influences that run deep into the most crucial tributaries of DIY pop — Messthethics, the Television Personalities, Marine Girls, early Pastels, Dolly Mixture — they've crafted a style that is as individual as it is just plain pleasurable. Alicia Jeanine's pure, unaffected voice muses wistfully on the illusions of time, while My Teenage Stride/Mick Trouble mastermind Jed Smith's frantic Motown-esque drumming and inventive bass playing provide a thrilling rhythmic foundation.
 
 Breakup Haircut
This ragtag team came together from across the wilds of London to play their own brand of spooky confessional punk. With heart, power, and oh so many feelings, they hope to one day  master playing really, really fast.
 Breakup Haircut formed for First Timers 2019, and have since been described as 'instantly charming', 'a mix of nihilism and slapstick guaranteed to put a smile on your face', and 'a pop punk version of the Scooby Doo gang'. 
 Defined by fierce basslines, humorously relatable lyrics, and a vehement determination not to recycle the same three punk drumbeats, they've been making pals, taking names, and solving mysteries left, right, and centre.
 
Athabaska
Athabaska are Roxy Brennan, Faith Taylor, Jacob Wills, and Mike Boyle. The band formed in January 2019 to bring together folk, indie and heartland rock. The seeds of the project were planted in 2009 when Jacob and Faith began playing together as students – over the years they played and sang together on a variety of stages, markets, bookshops and living room floors. After spending three years playing in the indie DIY scene, Faith began importing some of these sounds into the project, and what became Athabaska expanded to include Roxy and Mike. 

Rough timings:
1930 doors open
2000 Athabaska
2050 Breakup Haircut
2140 Jeanines
and a nice early finish for a Sunday night!

Facebook event

Fika Recordings proudly presents the return of annual Winter Sprinter!

Limited 4 day passes available from We Got Tickets - all super early and early bird passes now sold out.
Day tickets from We Got Tickets or from Dice.

Facebook event here.

THE BALLET
Queer New York duo the Ballet marry the DIY ethos of the Hidden Cameras with the wry poeticism of the Magnetic Fields and the romantic pop of Jens Lekman, to create literate, infectious pop gems. In addition to citing Stephin Merritt as an influence, Goldberg, who writes and home records all of the band’s songs, draws from an array of pop artists and periods, from 60’s bubblegum to 80’s synthpop and 90’s indiepop, fusing these in sophisticated and novel ways that reward repeat listening.
“The music is so lovely, all dewy guitars and dripping synth bells, that it makes you understand the appeal of intertwining with someone who doesn’t necessarily respect you.” Pitchfork

KEEL HER
Keel Her is the musical recording project of Rose Keeler-Schaffeler, from Winchester (UK). She began writing and recording "bedroom" music in 2007 for therapeutic reasons,[1] and has continued this as part of her daily routine since. As a child, Rose learnt the violin, but is largely a self-taught musician; she plays guitar, bass, keyboards and sings. Rose has described her writing process as being like a "stream of consciousness".
”Keel Her’s caustic sense of humour shines through on even its darkest moments” Loud and Quiet

MR BEN & THE BENS
Born as a recording project in a barn in Lancashire in 2012, Ben Hall recorded and self released 7 albums under Mr Ben. Now a complete outfit Mr Ben & the Bens sound like they were baptised in water from the church of indie classics, the songs of the Lancaster Polymath echo Belle & Sebastian, Teleman, Gorkys Zygotic Mynci and a bit of Bill Ryder-Jones his genuinely great modern songwriting.

19:30 Doors open
20:00 Mr Ben & The Bens
20:50 Keel Her
21:45-22:45 The Ballet