A DIY INDIEPOP VINYL & CASSETTE LABEL

May 27: Carla J Easton at Paper Dress Vintage

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

Support to be announced shortly.

Join us for the London launch of Carla J. Easton's new album!

I Think That I Might Love You, Carla’s fifth solo album – it is still a pop album at heart, but also her first ‘guitar’ record. Produced by ​​Howard Bilerman (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Wolf Parade, Leonard Cohen, The Weather Station) the album finds Carla gathering up friends old and new to craft a record that feels like a natural but also significant leap forward.

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’ was released in 2023 via Olive Grove Records and featured the singles ‘One Week’, ‘Blooming 4U’ and the album title track ‘Sugar Honey’.

Carla is a member of the Hen Hoose Collective and Co-Director of the feature-length documentary ‘Since Yesterday: The Unsung Pioneers of Scottish Pop’.

May 13: Broken Chanter at Paper Dress Vintage

Fika Recordings presents Broken Chanter + Sassyhiya + Emma Kupa

Broken Chanter is the stage name of Glaswegian songwriter David MacGregor, on tour in support of his latest album This Could be Us, You, Or Anybody Else.

Support comes from Sassyhiya and Emma Kupa.

His album, Chorus Of Doubt, (agit-pop with heart - 8/10 - UNCUT) was released by Chemikal Underground in April 2024 and was on the Longlist of 20 for the 2024 Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award.

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 Catastrophe Hits (Muscular, fast-moving indie-pop – The Scotsman)

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 the similarly well-received follow-up Now That You Are a Dancer being Longlisted for the SAY Award in 2014.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

£12 + bf (£7.50 no questions asked concessions).

Carla J Easton - I Think That I Might Love You [12”]

Artist: Carla J Easton
Title: I Think That I Might Love You
Format: 12” vinyl
Cat#: Fika119LP
Release date: 8th May 2026
Bandcamp
A split release alongside our friends in the USA, Ernest Jenning Recording Co.

Throughout the process of making her acclaimed documentary Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands, women kept telling Carla J Easton how they bought a guitar, learnt three chords, and dived headfirst into making music. Having built her career around playing keys – through four solo albums, her band’s Teen Canteen and Poster Paints, and currently as part of The Vaselines live setup – she couldn’t shake this idea of following where so many of her heroes had led. 

That seed of an idea soon became the basis for I Think That I Might Love You, Carla’s fifth solo album – still a pop album at heart, but also her first ‘guitar’ record. Produced by ​​Howard Bilerman (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Wolf Parade, Leonard Cohen, The Weather Station) the album finds Carla gathering up friends old and new to craft a record that feels like a natural but also significant leap forward. 

The new album was inspired not only by her time making the Since Yesterday film, but also by her work within Hen Hoose, the Scottish songwriting collective that unites a diverse array of female and non-binary artists, writers and producers to create new work collaboratively. As such, I Think That I Might Love You includes a number of co-writes across its eleven new songs, including Simon Liddell (Frightened Rabbit, Poster Paints), Hen Hoose’s MALKA (Hen Hoose), Glasgow’s Man of the Minch, Canadian singer songwriter Brett Nelson, and cult hero Darren Hayman of Hefner. 

Recorded live off the floor at Glasgow’s legendary Chem 19 studio – and with just a single day’s rehearsal – I Think That I Might Love You is a spirited expression of communal energy; an old school approach to a bold new chapter, a vivid capturing of human performance.

It is also, both suitably and understandably, an album about friendship – a celebration of such things but also a reflection on what it means to lose them. Indeed, the album’s path began in a recording booth at Third Man Records in Nashville, Carla side by side with her friend and songwriting companion Brett Nelson. “We started writing about this idea of the red thread, the red string of fate,” Carla explains. “It’s the idea that you have more than one soulmate, platonic as well as romantic. You’re usually only going to meet people in your postcode, but with billions of people on the planet you've probably got soulmates all over the world. So if you find any kind of thread, that's something really important and you should pick it up and follow it.”

Lead single ‘Oh Yeah’ is also the album’s glowing opener, setting things off with a bucketload of warmth. Co-written with her Poster Paints bandmate Simon Liddell, it’s animated and full of spirit, the track wrapped-up within two-minutes, flying along in a heady rush of melodrama, all glowing melodies and a dizzying sense of adventure. 

Then there’s ‘Let’s Make Plans For The Weekend’ – a co-write with Pedro Cameron – which buzzes in an appropriately colourful style. A buoyant and sharp three-minute pop song, Carla’s voice is spirited and jubilant as the song bursts forward, characteristically infectious, an undercurrent of restless energy. While ‘Red Kites In the Sun’ is classic Scottish indie-pop. Something of a slow-build, it opens with jangly guitars front-and-centre, before the instrumentation shines and swells around her, the song opening up into a warm-hearted gem, the wistful strings adding a whole heap of romanticism that feels deeply charming. 

Elsewhere, ‘Really, Really, Really, Really Sad’, written with with Darren Hayman is swooning and decadent, a 60s tinged burst of heavy-hearted pop, while  ‘Pillars Crash Down’, written with Brett Nelson on a vintage 60s organ, feels like the moment the album’s many shades come together; the heavy-hearted nature of the album’s more withdrawn moments finding a balance with its exuberance, to showcase what feels like a bold new chapter in Carla’s ever-shifting story. 

“When you're co-writing you can find yourself working with genres or sounds that you don't normally do,” Carla says, reflecting on the process. “And that’s great, because I like to keep learning. At this stage, I'm not really trying to reinvent the wheel, I'm here to have fun.”

If that sounds somewhat flippant it’s not supposed to. Carla’s songwriting has changed and improved over the years, and that growth had led her to approach the new album with a whole new dose of confidence. I Think That I Might Love You thrives within that approach, swept up in glistening immediacy, paying no mind to over-thinking. “There’s a shared euphoria that comes from finishing a song you’ve been co-writing with someone,” Carla says. “That’s the feeling we were trying to capture here.”

It’s captured in songs that stirred from a similar place to those women mentioned above, the ones who picked up a guitar, taught themselves to play it, and dived headfirst into spaces they haven’t always been invited to. Those songs grew from long road-trips through the States, through shared voice-notes from her home to friends near and far, and finally on to the Glasgow studio where the whole album came so vibrantly to life. As such, I Think That I Might Love You is a record of communal heart and power. That’s the thread that was followed, and it’s what runs right through these songs from start to finish, binding them all together. Cherry-red and glowing with life. 

About 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’ was released in 2023 via Olive Grove Records and featured the singles ‘One Week’, ‘Blooming 4U’ and the album title track ‘Sugar Honey’.

She is currently completing her 5th solo studio album, reuniting with Howard Bilerman to produce at Chem19, which has been supported by Creative Scotland.

Carla is a member of the Hen Hoose Collective and Co-Director of the feature-length documentary ‘Since Yesterday: The Unsung Pioneers of Scot

March 31: The Leaf Library at The Ivy House

The Leaf Library launch their 4th studio album After The Rain, Strange Seeds at The Ivy House.
Support from Lila Tristram.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

The Leaf Library are a north London band playing melodic 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), a recent double LP of rarities and compilation tracks (Library Music: Volume One) and a four track EP for Castles In Space.

The band formed in the mid 2000s around singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton and has settled into the core line up that includes drummer Lewis Young and bassist Gareth Jones.

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 (which also features releases by Michael Tanner, Melinda Bronstein and anrimeal, amongst others).

In their live shows the carefully constructed and occasionally delicate sound world of their albums is replaced by a sometimes noisier and more intense experience, helped by the addition of an ever-evolving collective of musicians including guitarist Mike Cranny (of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations) and keyboardist Irina Shtreis.

Associated Leaf Library bands include Beneather, Boa Resa and Molch (drummer Lewis Young), Mirrored Daughters (Lewis and guitarist Matt Ashton, plus Marlody and Mike Firestations), The Form Group (guitarist Matt), Sea Glass (guitarist Matt again, Melinda Bronstein and Mike Firestations again), The Nameless Book (guitarist SJ Nelson), Sun Drawing (Matt again), Wintergreen (bassist Gareth Jones), and Basic Design (Matt again).

The Leaf Library - After The Rain, Strange Seeds [12"/CD]

Artist: The Leaf Library
Title: After The Rain, Strange Seeds
Format: 12" album on yellow vinyl | CD in digifile sleeve
Cat#: Fika114LP | Fika114CD
Release date: 20th March 2026
Bandcamp

London quartet The Leaf Library return with their brand new album After The Rain, Strange Seeds (out on 20 March via Fika), a luminous collection of pastoral indiepop, drawing inspiration from suburban isolation, unreliable memories and the surreality of the weather. Their most immediate and melodic work to date, the richly evocative songs brim with chiming guitars, buzzing organs and warm, dulcet strings, evoking Yo La Tengo’s more contemplative moments, The Clientele’s autumnal jangle pop and early Stereolab’s motorik melodicism. The sound of the album is defined by mixer John McEntire, whose work with Stereolab and Yo La Tengo (as well as a member of Tortoise and The Sea And Cake) have been major inspirations to the band.

The album explores themes of memory and place, albeit through an abstract haze – returning again and again to specific moments frozen in time: midsummer bright hot days in the Chilterns (“Sun In My Room”), meteorology and the strange movement of the weather (“Colour Chant”), red kites circling over suburban motorways (“Some Circling”), and the uncanny feeling of dusk and nighttime creatures on “The Reader’s Lamp” (titled by celebrated film director Peter Strickland). The lyrics are vivid yet elliptical, strung with abstract ideas and imagery, conjuring a gently unsettling, though never unwelcoming atmosphere. Not quite trusting your own recollection of things, while marvelling at the oddness of the natural world, the album’s title is a good summation of the mix of strangeness and hope contained within.

As on past albums the band - founded by singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton in the mid 2000s, and now completed by drummer Lewis Young and bassist Gareth Jones - have involved their extended musical family, including guitarist Mike Cranny (of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations) a member of the Leaf Library live band. The album also sees the return of James Underwood’s Iskra Strings, a quartet that features on four tracks, with sumptuous arrangements by Daniel Fordham, as well as regular contributor Melinda Bronstein on vocals and Will Twynham (Dimorphodons) on harpsichord. They also welcomed Paddy Milner (on Hammond organ) and Scott McKeon (guitar) – both current members of Tom Jones’ band – for a startlingly delicate rolling crescendo to closing track “There Was Always A Golden Age”.

After The Rain, Strange Seeds is the fourth studio album from The Leaf Library, which follows Daylight Versions (2015), The World Is A Bell (2019), About Minerals (2020) and a collaborative LP on Mille Plateaux with Japanese artist Teruyuki Kurihara (Melody Tomb), a double LP of rarities and compilation tracks (Library Music: Volume One - 2022) and a four track EP for electronic label Castles In Space. Band members have been involved with a plethora of solo projects, side-projects and collaborations, most recently Matt, Lewis, Mike from Firestations and singer Marlody in Mirrored Daughters.

Recorded across multiple studios between April 2022 and August 2023, After The Rain, Strange Seeds sees The Leaf Library challenging themselves with more traditional songwriting and more structured compositions (more chords and more choruses!) rather than just relying on sounds or textures. The result is The Leaf Library’s most accomplished and affecting work, John McEntire’s mix bringing a bold clarity to the band’s meticulous arrangements – closer to how they sound live than anything they’ve done before, and a culmination of where they’ve been heading over the years. With After The Rain, Strange Seeds they have created an album that is bright and transcendent yet blissfully intimate.

About The Leaf Library

The Leaf Library are a north London band playing melodic 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), a recent double LP of rarities and compilation tracks (Library Music: Volume One) and a four track EP for Castles In Space.

The band formed in the mid 2000s around singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton and has settled into the core line up that includes drummer Lewis Young and bassist Gareth Jones.

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 (which also features releases by Michael Tanner, Melinda Bronstein and anrimeal, amongst others).

In their live shows the carefully constructed and occasionally delicate sound world of their albums is replaced by a sometimes noisier and more intense experience, helped by the addition of an ever-evolving collective of musicians including guitarist Mike Cranny (of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations) and keyboardist Irina Shtreis.

Associated Leaf Library bands include Beneather, Boa Resa and Molch (drummer Lewis Young), Mirrored Daughters (Lewis and guitarist Matt Ashton, plus Marlody and Mike Firestations), The Form Group (guitarist Matt), Sea Glass (guitarist Matt again, Melinda Bronstein and Mike Firestations again), The Nameless Book (guitarist SJ Nelson), Sun Drawing (Matt again), Wintergreen (bassist Gareth Jones), and Basic Design (Matt again).

Press Quotes:

“World-weary yet innocent, blissful dreampop” – Uncut

“A sensory deprivation tank of experimental sometimes-pop” – Concrete Islands

“Like experiencing The Clientele’s ghostly pastoral elegies warped through the drone melodies of Stereolab" – PopLib

"A melancholy wonder" – The Guardian

"Fascinating, bold and experimental drone-pop" – Louder Than War

“Music for a rainy Tuesday afternoon of the soul” – Pete Paphides

Carla J Easton - Oh Yeah [Digital]

Artist: Carla J Easton
Title: Oh Yeah
Format: digital single
Cat#: Fika119SG1
Release date: 3rd March 2026
A split release with Ernest Jenning Recording Co.

About 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’ was released in 2023 via Olive Grove Records and featured the singles ‘One Week’, ‘Blooming 4U’ and the album title track ‘Sugar Honey’.

She is currently completing her 5th solo studio album, reuniting with Howard Bilerman to produce at Chem19, which has been supported by Creative Scotland.

Carla is a member of the Hen Hoose Collective and Co-Director of the feature-length documentary ‘Since Yesterday: The Unsung Pioneers of Scot

The Leaf Library - Catch Up, Isobel [Digital]

Artist: The Leaf Library
Title: Catch Up, Isobel
Format: digital single
Cat#: Fika114SG2
Release date: 18th February 2026
Bandcamp

“Catch Up, Isobel” is the second single to be taken from the new album by The Leaf Library - After The Rain, Strange Seeds - which is due out on 20 March via Fika Recordings. The track sees the band reconnecting with their jangly guitar  roots, after a few years of trying to distance themselves from the indiepop tag. The band found a rich new seam of melodic guitar music whilst working on the new record, including bands they’d missed the first time around (The Chills, The Go-Betweens, The Clean) and new music from the current wave of lo-fi dream pop bands (Cindy, Reds Pinks and Purples, Jetstream Pony, Massage). The lyrics, a message to someone who is struggling (“isolated in a crowded room” as the band put it) were co-written by longtime collaborator Melinda Bronstein.

The Leaf Library’s most immediate and melodic work to date, After The Rain, Strange Seeds  is a luminous collection of pastoral indiepop, drawing inspiration from suburban isolation, unreliable memories and the surreality of the weather. Recorded across multiple studios between April 2022 and August 2023, the album sees The Leaf Library challenging themselves with more traditional songwriting and more structured compositions (more chords and more choruses!) rather than just relying on sonics or textures.  The sound of the album is defined by mixer John McEntire, whose work with Stereolab and Yo La Tengo (as well as a member of Tortoise and The Sea And Cake) have been major inspirations to the band.

As on past albums the band - founded by singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton in the mid 2000s, and now completed by drummer Lewis Young and bassist Gareth Jones - have involved their extended musical family, including guitarist Mike Cranny (of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations), a member of the Leaf Library live band. The album also sees the return of James Underwood’s Iskra Strings, a quartet that features on four tracks, with sumptuous arrangements by Daniel Fordham, as well as regular contributor Melinda Bronstein on backing vocals and Will Twynham (Dimorphodons) on harpsichord.

The result is The Leaf Library’s most accomplished and affecting work, John McEntire’s mix bringing a bold clarity to the band’s meticulous arrangements – closer to how they sound live than anything they’ve done before, and a culmination of where they’ve been heading over the years. With After The Rain, Strange Seeds they have created an album that is bright and transcendent yet blissfully intimate.

About The Leaf Library

The Leaf Library are a north London band playing melodic 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), a recent double LP of rarities and compilation tracks (Library Music: Volume One) and a four track EP for Castles In Space.

The band formed in the mid 2000s around singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton and has settled into the core line up that includes drummer Lewis Young and bassist Gareth Jones.

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 (which also features releases by Michael Tanner, Melinda Bronstein and anrimeal, amongst others).

In their live shows the carefully constructed and occasionally delicate sound world of their albums is replaced by a sometimes noisier and more intense experience, helped by the addition of an ever-evolving collective of musicians including guitarist Mike Cranny (of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations) and keyboardist Irina Shtreis.

Associated Leaf Library bands include Beneather, Boa Resa and Molch (drummer Lewis Young), Mirrored Daughters (Lewis and guitarist Matt Ashton, plus Marlody and Mike Firestations), The Form Group (guitarist Matt), Sea Glass (guitarist Matt again, Melinda Bronstein and Mike Firestations again), The Nameless Book (guitarist SJ Nelson), Sun Drawing (Matt again), Wintergreen (bassist Gareth Jones), and Basic Design (Matt again).

“World-weary yet innocent, blissful dreampop” – Uncut

“A sensory deprivation tank of experimental sometimes-pop” – Concrete Islands

“Like experiencing The Clientele’s ghostly pastoral elegies warped through the drone melodies of Stereolab" – PopLib

"A melancholy wonder" – The Guardian

"Fascinating, bold and experimental drone-pop" – Louder Than War

“Music for a rainy Tuesday afternoon of the soul” – Pete Paphides

The Just Joans - Romantic Visions of Scotland [12"/CD]

Artist: The Just Joans
Title: Romantic Visions of Scotland
Format: 12" album on black vinyl with lyrics insert | CD in digifile sleeve
Cat#: Fika113LP | Fika113CD
Release date: 23rd January 2026
Bandcamp | Spotify | Tidal

 The Just Joans' new album Romantic Visions of Scotland finds the Glasgow band in characteristically melancholic form, pairing shambling indie pop with sharp observations on romantic pratfalls and everyday disappointments, all delivered with sardonic Scottish wit, fronted by siblings David and Katie Pope, whose wry lyrics and heartfelt vocals remain at the heart of the band’s distinctive sound. 

Originally inspired by a grandiose exhibition title spotted on Glasgow buses in 2019 for a show at the National Museum of Scotland called Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland, the new album arrives six years later as a collection of semi-autobiographical snapshots from the Central Belt of Scotland. Whilst some of the details have been exaggerated for comic (or tragic) effect, the songs are based on personal experience of mundane failings, bitter regrets and missed opportunities that make up an unremarkable life.

Recurring themes of nostalgia for a bygone era and the fear of being left behind by lovers, friends and peers run throughout the album. Musically and lyrically, the band channels Village Green-era Kinks, with nods to The Television Personalities, The Smiths and Dolly Mixture.

In the past they have always recorded by themselves in a variety of bedrooms, living rooms – and the occasional toilet. For the first time they have abandoned their DIY recording practices to create what songwriter David Pope calls, “a corporate behemoth in an actual studio.” The album was recorded at Chem19 in Blantyre with Paul Savage, who is best known as a founding member of local legends The Delgados. He has also produced and recorded the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap and Camera Obscura, and has captured a slightly more muscular version of the band while retaining their ramshackle charm.

The album artwork by vocalist and painter Katie Pope depicts Motherwell Train Station – an ordinary, boring place that speaks to the subject matter of the songs, but with a hint of potential escape. As David Pope explains, “For me, the painting reminds me of the ending of Billy Liar in which Billy tries and fails to leave his hometown for the bright lights of London. Half the band also live in Motherwell, so it seemed appropriate.”

Funded by Creative Scotland, the recording allowed the band to bring in bass and cello arrangements, adding depth and a sheen of musical proficiency to their signature sound. 

About The Just Joans

The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Early demos were collected together and released as a loose concept album, Last Tango in Motherwell, in 2006. Chris Elkin joined on guitar and was followed shortly after by David’s younger sister, Katie, on vocals and Fraser Ford on bass. Over the years they have released EPs and albums on WeePOP! and Fika Recordings and have gained a cult following as Scottish pop miserabilists. 

The current line-up consists of Katie Pope (vocals), David Pope (vocals, guitar), Chris Elkin (lead guitar), Fraser Ford (bass), Arion Xenos (keyboards) and Jason Sweeney (drums).

Press Quotes:

“This is gold star indie-pop but with none of the affected feyness of Belle & Sebastian. From the stomp of album opener Think Fast, Make Conversation to electro banger Romantic Visions (Prepare For Disappointment), this is librarian louche with muscle” The Skinny [4/5]

“These ‘Romantic Visions of Scotland’ are ones you’ll want to take in” Spectral Nights

“Simple, easy-pleasing hokiness does still have a place in music, and The Just Joans know how to make it work.” The Soundboard

“This set of songs mines a great tradition of British miserabilism; like The Smiths with a smile; a sense that things are as bad as they seem but we can laugh at them and that makes it all worthwhile.” Vanguard Online

“eleven aural equivalents to Allan Bennett kitchen sink dramas, each individual vignette is an everyday tale of life in the world of The Just Joans and in turn each is a perfectly formed and utterly relatable microcosm of the day to day realities of life in the West of Scotland” The Ginger Quiff

January 21-24: The Winter Sprinter 2026

Announcing the 26th edition of the Winter Sprinter, from Wednesday 21st January to Saturday 24th.

Fika Recordings present The Winter Sprinter 2026. Four nights and twelve bands - the perfect antidote to the January blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Wednesday 21st Jan: British Birds + Steven Adams + Jessica’s Brother
Thursday 22nd Jan: Comet Gain + Starter Car + The Moats
Friday 22nd Jan: Fightmilk + New Starts + Brutalligators
Sat 23rd: The Just Joans + Carla J Easton + Pelts

Tickets are on sale now!
Concessions are open to anyone unable to afford a full price ticket, no questions asked.

Tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

Fightmilk - Sounds Like A You Problem [Digital]

Artist: Fightmilk
Title: Sounds Like A You Problem
Format: digital single
Cat#: Fika118SG1
Release date: 21 January 2026
Bandcamp | Spotify

The acclaimed DIY, power-pop quartet Fightmilk return with an unmissable, crashing tsunami of cathartic anger as the band embrace a bold new direction with the single Sounds Like A You Problem. Released on 21 January on Fika/INH Records, the song follows up on the critical and commercial success of their last Album, 2024’s No Souvenirs, as the agitstrop-popsters look to the future by recording in a new studio with a new producer and have come back with a glorious, mean, muscular and feisty slice of pop fury.

“Sleeping on eggshells
I know too much
Behind your locked door
Man on the run”

“This is taken directly from my experience at the hands of a former partner. Whilst I’ve written about it in other songs, this is the first time I’ve addressed it this head-on,” says singer Lily Rae.

“It’s such a common experience for so many people, especially women, that I wanted it to feel recognisable and relatable to anyone who’s gone through the same thing. It’s terrifying and suffocating at the time, but then the aftermath is just anger and later pity. You spend the whole relationship wondering what you could do better and then once you’re free of it you realise the way someone treats you was never your fault, or your problem, at all.

“I didn’t intend for it to sound like Army of Me by Bjork and Plump by Hole crashing into each other on a motorway but that’s how it turned out and I’m not mad about it. Bob the Excellent Mastering Guy said it was ‘very In Utero’, so that’s nice too. A Big Angry Song!!!”

Guitarist Alex enthuses about how the band have embraced pushing themselves in a new direction.

“In ten years of being Fightmilk, we’ve got used to doing things a certain way, and as we were finishing No Souvenirs, we started thinking of it as the end of an era in some ways,” he says. “Sounds Like A You Problem was the first new song we worked on after that album, so we figured it would be a good time to try something different.

“Working with a new producer in a new studio encouraged everyone out of their comfort zone on this song in one way or another. Without any backing vocals getting in the way, we probably all just decided to scream through our instruments instead. We went into Rich Mandell’s with no agenda, half-seriously throwing references around like PJ Harvey, The Geraldine Fibbers and, er, Limp Bizkit in an attempt to match the nervous scratchy energy of Lily’s initial demo, and we couldn’t be more proud of what he’s pulled out of us.

“When we started playing it live, Lily used to yell “I’m sorry” over the middle 8, and I’m glad she doesn’t anymore. This song is many things; apologetic isn’t one of them.”

Fightmilk is Lily, Alex, Healey and Nick - a London-based four-piece who write sweaty, loud, shouty pop songs. Formed in the beer gardens of South London in 2015, the band quickly drew attention with their debut album Not With That Attitude (Reckless Yes, 2018) - singled out by Drowned In Sound for its “package of massive, Godzilla-heft hooks” and “crack–like melodies.” Gaining support from 6Music and Radio X, the band swiftly hopped in the van to play shows with the likes of Art Brut, Desperate Journalist and Nova Twins, as well as touring Germany.

Not letting a seismic global clusterfuck stand in their way, the band released their second LP Contender in 2021 via Reckless Yes. Described as “a joyous riot from start to finish” by Kerrang, it was an album with something to prove, adding stacked harmonies, analog drum machines and even heftier riffs to the band’s arsenal, while still remaining decidedly true to the band’s spiky indiepop sound. As soon as they were released from lockdown they began a near relentless gigging schedule, taking in multiple trips around the UK, support slots with Johnny Foreigner, mclusky and Problem Patterns, plus a sold-out 2022 headline slot at Norway’s Indiefjord Festival, where a sweat-soaked Fightmilk crowdsurfed their way offstage at midnight only to find it was still light outside.

The band’s eighth year in action saw them writing and recording their third album No Souvenirs, released in late 2024 on Fika Recordings and INH Records. The album was enormously well-received with John Kennedy inviting the band onto Radio X for a session and was accompanied by a full UK tour.