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