A DIY INDIEPOP VINYL & CASSETTE LABEL

Adam Ross - Free Will [Digital]

Artist: Adam Ross
Title: Free Will
Format: digital
Cat#: Fika099SG1
Release date: 17th January 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

"Tattoos versus religion

A choice between the two

One's a permanent mark you'll regret in later life...

...the other's a tattoo"

Free Will is the first single and the opening track from Adam Ross's new album, Littoral Zone. The song is a stream-of-consciousness journey through a list of doubts, desires, demons and disputes as warped synths and rolling bass guitar slowly build to a sweeping orchestral conclusion. Free Will is a perfect scene-setter showcasing Adam's wry lyricism and the masterful skills of his musical collaborators. The album is produced by Andrew Wasylyk who brings a sonic palette of bone-dry drum kits, modulating keyboards and sparkling piano, all topped off with heart-stirring string arrangements by Pete Harvey, yearning vocals by Gillian Fleetwood and punctuating brass by Rachel Simpson.

Recorded in 2023 during a series of studio sessions in Dundee, the song takes you on a stroll through a north-east village as the narrative flits between parochial and existential concerns, introspection and shabby romance. It marks a departure from the sparse folk of Adam’s previous album and opens up the new, expansive musical world of the Littoral Zone.

Adam says about the song:

"I was thinking about the idea of blame and guilt, having read a book about free will. There's a theory that says free will doesn't exist because there's evidence we make choices before our brains have the chance to actually think about them. And if that's true then it's either a scary/depressing realisation or potentially a liberating one because then there's no need for blame or shame - stuff just happens.

“Naturally, that led to a line about religion. I had a pretty positive experience with a religious childhood but I don't believe anymore and the only hangover is sometimes finding it hard to shake the idea I'm being watched, which is sort of where the tattoo line came from. I'm really pleased with how this song turned out, particularly the way the outro loops and builds. It felt like a pretty good opening statement for the album."

Free Will is released on 17th January as a digital single. It also comes as a free download with pre-orders of Littoral Zone which is released by Fika Recordings on 24th May on vinyl, CD and digital.

Steven Adams - Drops [12”/CD]

Artist: Steven Adams
Title: Drops
Format: 12” vinyl LP | digipack CD
Cat#: Fika098LP | Fika098CD
Release date: 10th November 2023
Bandcamp | Spotify

“A national musical treasure" The Guardian

Steven Adams, formerly of The Broken Family Band releases new album DROPS on Fika Recordings in November 2023.

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. 

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

“Every record I’ve made has been in a hurry of some sort” says Adams of his new album, “and with this one I took my time”. DROPS is the first album to be credited to him as a solo artist since 2016’s Old Magick, his first new music since 2020, and his noisiest record to date.

Armed with a new batch of material, he began by upping sticks to the Welsh countryside to experiment with drummer Daniel Fordham and bassist David Stewart - both formerly of psych oddballs The Drink. The trio then took the songs to Big Jelly, a converted chapel on the south coast, with co-producer Simon Trought (Comet Gain, Johnny Flynn, The Wave Pictures) to lay down the basic tracks for DROPS.

Eschewing a full band set up (“I wanted to concentrate on one thing at a time”), recording sessions in East London followed with Laurie Earle (Absentee) on guitar and Michael Wood (Hayman Kupa Band, Michaelmas) on keyboards.

Adams then took the recordings home and to the French countryside, to work alone.“I finally got my head around home recording in 2020, while things were a bit quiet. Once I worked out how to record things I realised I didn’t have to think about time. I could let the songs evolve and change once we had the basic tracks down. After a while I started to think of them as paintings; trying something one morning, painting over it in the afternoon and attempting something completely different… it was about enjoying the process, making some bangers, playing around... and giving Simon the producer a mess to sort out when it came to mixing the record". Whenever Tom from Fika Recordings checked in to see how the album was progressing Adams would reply, “it’s taking ages but it’ll sound like it was recorded in an afternoon”.

The result is a dynamic and spirited collection of songs, with Adams's love of 90/00s US underground rock (Pavement's Bob Nastanovich is a fan) to the fore.

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".

Press for Drops:

“characteristically compelling” Uncut

“instant melodies, Adams’ intimate voice and observational lyrics… urban Britain has generated its very own equivalent of Stephen Malkmus” Mojo

“wry, heartfelt indie-pop that should resonate with anyone who enjoys sympathy in their music” Record Collector

“Adams has delivered his most satisfying album since the heady days of the Broken Family Band… clever, funny, inviting” Americana UK

“Drops still demonstrates Adams’ facility for social observation, gorgeous melodies, verbal dexterity and wordplay – with some trenchant social and political themes thrown in for good measure” Folk Radio

“Among the highpoints are opener Moderation, with some fine reverb guitar and the classic New Wave sounding Heads Keep Rolling” Neon Filler

“your favorite parts of modern indiepop sounds fused with the fuzzy pop of greats like Grandaddy” Austin Town Hall

“a spirited and witty collection of spontaneous sounding indie” Norman Records

Stanley Brinks - Good Moon [12"]

Artist: Stanley Brinks
Title: Good Moon
Format: 12" album on opaque moon coloured vinyl
Cat#: Fika096LP
Release date: 20th October 2023
Bandcamp

The prodigiously prolific Stanley Brinks’ (f.k.a. André Herman Dune) latest solo album Good Moon is a collection of love songs, of drinking songs, caught in the dusk as the sun retreats and the moon takes centre stage.

The good moon comes after the full moon, when everything comes down and you can finally get some work done - be it building a house, or a boat, or recording an album…
It's the most achieved album Stanley Brinks ever made.

Good Moon follows a series of acclaimed albums with The Wave Pictures, a pair of folk shanty and old-time calypso albums alongside Norway’s The Kaniks, and is scheduled for release shortly after another new record from Stanley, Iron Eye, this time alongside longtime collaborator and touring-partner Clemence Freschard.

Freschard appears on drums throughout Good Moon, with backing vocals from guests including anti-folk legend Jeffrey Lewis, The Burning Hell’s Mathias Kom, The Moldy Peaches’ Toby Goodshank and Maltese multimedia artist Alexandra Aquilina.

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 & Stanley Brinks - Iron Eye [12"]

Artist: Freschard & Stanley Brinks
Title: Iron Eye
Format: 12" album on transparent red vinyl
Cat#: Fika097LP
Release date: 6th October 2023
Bandcamp

Iron Eye is an irresistibly charming collection of late night tales, woozy ballads and uptempo sing-alongs. Clemence Freschard’s beautiful vocal tones lend this a rich, French indiepop/chanteuse vibe, complemented by Stanley’s wistful timbre and characteristic warm instrumentation. Iron Eye follows a succession of collaborative albums in Lion Heart, Tequila Island and Pizza Espresso in recent years.

In West Africa, where the only water you can find is in the Ocean, Stanley Brinks & Freschard put on their best carnival costumes to get to the bottom of every bottle of rum they could find. 
They found a lot.

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 alongside his brother, David-Ivar. 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 well in excess of 100 albums, collaborated with the New York Antifolk scene on numerous 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, and she breaks out the washboard on her fifth “Boom Biddy Boom”.

Steven Adams - Heads Keep Rolling [Digital]

Artist: Steven Adams
Title: Heads Keep Rolling
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika098SG2
Release date: 2 October 2023
Bandcamp | Spotify

Steven Adams, formerly of The Broken Family Band announces new album DROPS on Fika Recordings in November 2023.

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. 

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

“Every record I’ve made has been in a hurry of some sort” says Adams of his new album, “and with this one I took my time”. DROPS is the first album to be credited to him as a solo artist since 2016’s Old Magick, his first new music since 2020, and his noisiest record to date.

Armed with a new batch of material, he began by upping sticks to the Welsh countryside to experiment with drummer Daniel Fordham and bassist David Stewart - both formerly of psych oddballs The Drink. The trio then took the songs to Big Jelly, a converted chapel on the south coast, with co-producer Simon Trought (Comet Gain, Johnny Flynn, The Wave Pictures) to lay down the basic tracks for DROPS.

Eschewing a full band set up (“I wanted to concentrate on one thing at a time”), recording sessions in East London followed with Laurie Earle (Absentee) on guitar and Michael Wood (Hayman Kupa Band, Michaelmas) on keyboards.

Adams then took the recordings home and to the French countryside, to work alone.“I finally got my head around home recording in 2020, while things were a bit quiet. Once I worked out how to record things I realised I didn’t have to think about time. I could let the songs evolve and change once we had the basic tracks down. After a while I started to think of them as paintings; trying something one morning, painting over it in the afternoon and attempting something completely different… it was about enjoying the process, making some bangers, playing around... and giving Simon the producer a mess to sort out when it came to mixing the record". Whenever Tom from Fika Recordings checked in to see how the album was progressing Adams would reply, “it’s taking ages but it’ll sound like it was recorded in an afternoon”.

The result is a dynamic and spirited collection of songs, with Adams's love of 90/00s US underground rock (Pavement's Bob Nastanovich is a fan) to the fore.

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".

“…astonishing tenderness in its simplicity … brilliant lyrics.” Q Magazine
“…the tunes are instant and uplifting, but the real wallop comes from the lyrical imagery.” The Guardian
“…barbed modern life chronicles.” UNCUT

Steven Adams - Moderation [Digital]

Artist: Steven Adams
Title: Moderation
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika098SG3
Release date: 11 September 2023
Bandcamp | Spotify

Steven Adams, formerly of The Broken Family Band announces new album DROPS on Fika Recordings in November 2023.

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. 

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

“Every record I’ve made has been in a hurry of some sort” says Adams of his new album, “and with this one I took my time”. DROPS is the first album to be credited to him as a solo artist since 2016’s Old Magick, his first new music since 2020, and his noisiest record to date.

Armed with a new batch of material, he began by upping sticks to the Welsh countryside to experiment with drummer Daniel Fordham and bassist David Stewart - both formerly of psych oddballs The Drink. The trio then took the songs to Big Jelly, a converted chapel on the south coast, with co-producer Simon Trought (Comet Gain, Johnny Flynn, The Wave Pictures) to lay down the basic tracks for DROPS.

Eschewing a full band set up (“I wanted to concentrate on one thing at a time”), recording sessions in East London followed with Laurie Earle (Absentee) on guitar and Michael Wood (Hayman Kupa Band, Michaelmas) on keyboards.

Adams then took the recordings home and to the French countryside, to work alone.“I finally got my head around home recording in 2020, while things were a bit quiet. Once I worked out how to record things I realised I didn’t have to think about time. I could let the songs evolve and change once we had the basic tracks down. After a while I started to think of them as paintings; trying something one morning, painting over it in the afternoon and attempting something completely different… it was about enjoying the process, making some bangers, playing around... and giving Simon the producer a mess to sort out when it came to mixing the record". Whenever Tom from Fika Recordings checked in to see how the album was progressing Adams would reply, “it’s taking ages but it’ll sound like it was recorded in an afternoon”.

The result is a dynamic and spirited collection of songs, with Adams's love of 90/00s US underground rock (Pavement's Bob Nastanovich is a fan) to the fore.

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".

“…astonishing tenderness in its simplicity … brilliant lyrics.” Q Magazine
“…the tunes are instant and uplifting, but the real wallop comes from the lyrical imagery.” The Guardian
“…barbed modern life chronicles.” UNCUT

Steven Adams - Living In The Local Void [Digital]

Artist: Steven Adams
Title: Living In The Local Void
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika098SG1
Release date: 21st August 2023
Bandcamp | Spotify

Steven Adams, formerly of The Broken Family Band announces new album DROPS on Fika Recordings in November 2023, and reveals first track from it today: Living In The Local Void.

“It's about time and having ridiculous thoughts about GETTING THINGS DONE. It felt like a banger as soon as we started playing it for the first time. The temptation to stay on the same chord can be overwhelming, but the chorus brought out the best in all of us who played on it I think. “

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. 

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

“Every record I’ve made has been in a hurry of some sort” says Adams of his new album, “and with this one I took my time”. DROPS is the first album to be credited to him as a solo artist since 2016’s Old Magick, his first new music since 2020, and his noisiest record to date.

Armed with a new batch of material, he began by upping sticks to the Welsh countryside to experiment with drummer Daniel Fordham and bassist David Stewart - both formerly of psych oddballs The Drink. The trio then took the songs to Big Jelly, a converted chapel on the south coast, with co-producer Simon Trought (Comet Gain, Johnny Flynn, The Wave Pictures) to lay down the basic tracks for DROPS.

Eschewing a full band set up (“I wanted to concentrate on one thing at a time”), recording sessions in East London followed with Laurie Earle (Absentee) on guitar and Michael Wood (Hayman Kupa Band, Michaelmas) on keyboards.

Adams then took the recordings home and to the French countryside, to work alone.“I finally got my head around home recording in 2020, while things were a bit quiet. Once I worked out how to record things I realised I didn’t have to think about time. I could let the songs evolve and change once we had the basic tracks down. After a while I started to think of them as paintings; trying something one morning, painting over it in the afternoon and attempting something completely different… it was about enjoying the process, making some bangers, playing around... and giving Simon the producer a mess to sort out when it came to mixing the record". Whenever Tom from Fika Recordings checked in to see how the album was progressing Adams would reply, “it’s taking ages but it’ll sound like it was recorded in an afternoon”.

The result is a dynamic and spirited collection of songs, with Adams's love of 90/00s US underground rock (Pavement's Bob Nastanovich is a fan) to the fore.

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".

“…astonishing tenderness in its simplicity … brilliant lyrics.” Q Magazine
“…the tunes are instant and uplifting, but the real wallop comes from the lyrical imagery.” The Guardian
“…barbed modern life chronicles.” UNCUT

At The Bathhouse video, from The Ballet

Al Blackstone -- an Emmy-winning choreographer, and a fan of the band -- approached me with the idea of collaborating on something, and a music video (which the band had never done) seemed fun and timely with the release of the new album. I'd seen a locker room cruising dance he'd choreographed for the Fire Island Dance Festival in 2015, so "At the Bathhouse" felt like the right song for us to work on together. We tossed around a few ideas, but everything really came together after Al found the space we used: an abandoned Boys' Club in the East Village (Manhattan) that's now a dance studio. Gay bathhouses are politically charged spaces for a number of reasons: their role in gay liberation, their stigmatization in the wake of the HIV/AIDS crisis, their promise as a kind of utopian space, but also their reality as a hierarchical space where societal norms of sexiness and attractiveness operate. This political charge can make it hard to raise the topic in a public way without taking some kind of stand: for or against, celebratory or critical. It was important to me to suspend judgement in order to approach the bathhouse with curiosity, excitement, anticipation, ambivalence, and humor -- which, for me, evokes what it feels like to be in a bathhouse. All the posing and non-verbal communication and the chasing or being chased, it can feel serious but also playful and, when you step back, quite funny. Al translated this approach into dance and a kind of narrative where we follow this group as it flows, assembles, and disassembles through the space. Bathhouses can seem hive-like, where everyone is doing their own little bee dance but when you zoom out it feels like one big coordinated organism, and I think Al captured that beautifully.
- Greg Goldberg, The Ballet

At The Bathhouse is taken from the album Daddy Issues, out now on 12” vinyl and digitally.

The Ballet - Daddy Issues [12"]

Artist: The Ballet
Title: Daddy Issues
Format: 12” LP on transparent vinyl
Cat#: Fika095LP
Release date: 26th May 2023
Bandcamp | Spotify

“The amiable embrace of ambivalence distinguishes Greg Goldberg and Craig Willse’s output as the Ballet from the work of their funny musical uncles, like the Magnetic Fields’ implacably ironic Stephin Merritt, the Hidden Cameras’ riot auteur Joel Gibb, even fairy godfathers Pet Shop Boys.”  Pitchfork [7.6]

Formed in 2005 by Greg Goldberg and Craig Willse, The Ballet marry wry poeticism with pop romanticism and a queer DIY ethos to create literate, infectious pop gems. The band self-released their first two albums: ​Mattachine! ​(2006) ​and Bear Life​ (2009). These records caught the attention of indie-label-legends Fortuna Pop!, who released their third album, ​I Blame Society,​ in 2013. After FortunaPop! closed shop, The Ballet partnered with Fika Recordings, who released their fourth album, the critically acclaimed Matchy Matchy, in 2019.

The Ballet have been joined by a few other musicians over the years including Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Michael O'Neill, who left in 2007 to join JD Sampson in MEN, as well as guest appearances on previous albums from Linton of The Aislers Set, Ramesh from Voxtrot, Scott Matthew, and Kaki King. 

In addition to citing Stephin Merritt as a formative 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 genres in sophisticated and novel ways. 

On the Ballet’s new album, Daddy Issues, listeners may spot musical nods to the Velvet Underground, Frankie and Annette, Squeeze, Billy Idol, Lenny Kravitz, the Gothic Archies, Belle and Sebastian, and New Order, among others. Goldberg gravitates towards upbeat tempos, major keys, and basic chords, using these restrictions to craft simple, catchy melodies while also layering instruments in a way that keeps the ear engaged and rewards repeat listening.

The relatively light and smooth sound of Daddy Issues sets the tone for Goldberg’s unorthodox approach to his subject matter. As with previous Ballet albums, Daddy Issues offers a detail-rich examination of contemporary queer life, with a particular focus on the stigmatised desires, pleasures, and relations of gay men. Many queer artists have responded defensively to stigmatisation by asserting the political or psychological value of queer sex. Goldberg’s approach is different. Rather than defending queer sex, he aims to capture some of its complexity and nuance.

On Daddy Issues, Goldberg’s songs describe the appeal but also the challenges of promiscuity and non-monogamy (“Eenie Meenie,” “Two Boyfriends”). His songs find humour in the mundane “dangers” of queer life (“I’m on Drugs,” “At the Bathhouse”) and in the queer juxtaposition of perversion and gentleness (“Daddy’s Boy,” “CumDumpMike”). 

An extramarital affair is treated with the levity of a teenage crush, and masculinity is characterised as both hot and somewhat tedious (“A Married Man”). The narrators of Goldberg’s songs are hedonists who go dancing all night, use illicit substances, and have anonymous, public sex, but they also express loneliness, regret, melancholy, and self-loathing (“Since You’ve Been Gone,” “The Fountain of Youth,” “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”). To use such negative feelings to stigmatise gayness is homophobic, but so is denying their existence. Daddy Issues avoids both these pitfalls, instead capturing the co-existence of ecstasy and agony with humour, tenderness, and a lack of judgment.

The album’s title references a popular psychological diagnosis for people who are supposedly looking for surrogate fathers in their sexual or romantic partners, but it also suggests the issues of so-called daddies (older gay men). Rather than offering an ethnographic or autobiographical account of what it’s like to be a daddy, Daddy Issues offers a meditation on the role of daddy, inviting listeners to imagine themselves in relation to it in various ways, while also questioning its coherence and stability. 

After all, nobody is born a daddy; it is something one becomes (or doesn’t become), feels like (or doesn’t feel like), and is seen as (or isn’t seen as), if only for the duration of an album.

The Ballet - At the Bathhouse [Digital]

Artist: The Ballet
Title: At the Bathhouse
Format: Digital Single
Cat#: Fika095SG2
Release date: 21st April 2023
Bandcamp | Spotify

At the Bathouse is the new single from The Ballet, taken from their forthcoming album Daddy Issues, describing the appeal but also the challenges of promiscuity and non-monogamy.

Formed in 2005 by Greg Goldberg and Craig Willse, The Ballet marry wry poeticism with pop romanticism and a queer DIY ethos to create literate, infectious pop gems. The band self-released their first two albums: ​Mattachine! ​(2006) ​and Bear Life​ (2009). These records caught the attention of indie-label-legends Fortuna Pop!, who released their third album, ​I Blame Society,​ in 2013. After FortunaPop! closed shop, The Ballet partnered with Fika Recordings, who released their fourth album, the critically acclaimed Matchy Matchy, in 2019.

The Ballet have been joined by a few other musicians over the years including Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Michael O'Neill, who left in 2007 to join JD Sampson in MEN, as well as guest appearances on previous albums from Linton of The Aislers Set, Ramesh from Voxtrot, Scott Matthew, and Kaki King. 

In addition to citing Stephin Merritt as a formative 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 genres in sophisticated and novel ways. 

On the Ballet’s new album, Daddy Issues, listeners may spot musical nods to the Velvet Underground, Frankie and Annette, Squeeze, Billy Idol, Lenny Kravitz, the Gothic Archies, Belle and Sebastian, and New Order, among others. Goldberg gravitates towards upbeat tempos, major keys, and basic chords, using these restrictions to craft simple, catchy melodies while also layering instruments in a way that keeps the ear engaged and rewards repeat listening.

The relatively light and smooth sound of Daddy Issues sets the tone for Goldberg’s unorthodox approach to his subject matter. As with previous Ballet albums, Daddy Issues offers a detail-rich examination of contemporary queer life, with a particular focus on the stigmatised desires, pleasures, and relations of gay men. Many queer artists have responded defensively to stigmatisation by asserting the political or psychological value of queer sex. Goldberg’s approach is different. Rather than defending queer sex, he aims to capture some of its complexity and nuance.

The album’s title references a popular psychological diagnosis for people who are supposedly looking for surrogate fathers in their sexual or romantic partners, but it also suggests the issues of so-called daddies (older gay men). Rather than offering an ethnographic or autobiographical account of what it’s like to be a daddy, Daddy Issues offers a meditation on the role of daddy, inviting listeners to imagine themselves in relation to it in various ways, while also questioning its coherence and stability. 

After all, nobody is born a daddy; it is something one becomes (or doesn’t become), feels like (or doesn’t feel like), and is seen as (or isn’t seen as), if only for the duration of an album.

“I definitely can see where the comparisons with Stephin Merritt pop in when you listen to the Ballet, though I think that mostly revolves around some of the sexual themes and literary writing. For me, I think Greg Goldberg pulls on a slightly different hat though, with a much more electronic focus on the latest single. In listening here, there’s a definite bounce, perhaps a nod to acts like New Order, albeit spun through the lens of Goldberg and his writing partner Willse” Austin Town Hall