A DIY INDIEPOP VINYL & CASSETTE LABEL

Adam Ross - Littoral Zone [12"/CD]

Artist: Adam Ross
Title: Littoral Zone
Format: 12” ecomix vinyl | digifile CD | digital
Cat#: Fika099
Release date: 24th May 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

24th May 2024 will see the release of Littoral Zone, the second solo album by Adam Ross - a musician described by Folk Radio as "one of Scotland’s most talented singers and songwriters".

The album is produced by multiple Scottish Album Of The Year Award nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wasylyk and released on London record label Fika Recordings. Arts bodies Creative Scotland and Help Musicians have supported and funded the album in recognition of what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting musical collaborations of 2024.

The album is a heavily lyrical collection of warped 70s-esque indie-folk ballads inspired by Adam’s relocation to the coast. The title, Littoral Zone, is a term used to define where the sea meets the land but also a nod to a style of direct, literary observations about the people, landscapes and states of mind Adam has discovered since moving there. The lyrics cover themes of nature, politics, faith, love and death and are surrounded by Andrew’s deft production featuring luscious string ensembles and brass.

The writing of the album saw Adam move away from guitar and onto piano, having bought a slightly battered upright piano from a local antiques warehouse as a first priority after moving house in 2021. Chords, melodies and musical ideas were recorded on Adam's phone before lyrics were slowly built up during his walks on the beach and clifftops around the village of St Cyrus where he now lives.

Songs like Free Will and Union Gary chart and exaggerate the at-times ridiculous minutiae of day-to-day life, with the latter musing on British foreign policy via the prism of an unkempt garden. The Going and I Get It Wrong pay tribute to the natural beauty and mystery of coastal landscapes while Brambles falls into the musical tradition of the murder ballad, with a story loosely based on an amalgamation of true events. The album's darker edges can also be discovered in Shrinking and Ego which dwell on aging and self-doubt, however Apogee looks to counterbalance such themes with a pure outpouring of love.

The album sees Adam at his most musically ambitious and precise. In contrast to his more lo-fi and DIY previous work, Littoral Zone is a painstakingly crafted record which celebrates collaboration. Andrew Wasylyk's production and multi-instrumentalist performances bring sonic sophistication which is further heightened by Pete Harvey's heart-stirring string arrangements. Gillian Fleetwood's yearning vocals are a constant highlight throughout the album, as is Rachel Simpson's exquisite brass playing. Ultimately, Littoral Zone is an album of stories and Adam's lyrical knack shines throughout.

“Littoral Zone feels like a landmark album in Adam Ross’s career, a kind of synthesis of the most impressive elements of his full band and solo work up until this point. Those in the know have long been aware of his immense gifts as a songwriter; in a fair world, this literate, funny, humane album would cement his status as a national treasure.” KLOF

“Littoral Zone, the second solo album from Randolph’s Leap frontman Adam Ross, was inspired by his move to the Aberdeenshire coast and the purchase of a piano on which he has played out a fondness for Seventies MOR pop songwriting. Fellow pianist Andrew Wasylyk produces and there are delicate embellishments on strings, brass and vocals from Pete Harvey, Rachel Simpson and Gillian Fleetwood, making their presence felt with the spry orchestration on Apogee, uplifting arrangement of Union Gary and the soft, gospelly vocal counterpoint to the aching lyrics of Ego. The title track pushes further into southern soul territory while the murder ballad-inspired Brambles boldly rhymes “Banchory” with “Tanqueray”."“ The Scostman * * *

adults x Spank Hair - ...in the big league [Digital]

Artist: adults x Spank Hair
Title: …in the big league
Format: Split digital EP + zine
Cat: Fika103
Release date: 22nd May 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

“two new jangly, indie pop songs about love, anxiety, sadness and lying to yrself. one day we’ll figure out how to write songs about finding joy in the throes of late capitalism but not today! we’ve been writing a lot this year and we're so excited to be putting out these songs on a split with our hugely talented mates spank hair. attempting poppy and slightly polished - we’ve even got some multitracking on this one! we had loads of fun recording these with keith totp and our pal rich mandell with some expensive gear in soho and loosely timed handclaps. trouble is the best that we’ve got.” - adults

“We’re really excited to have our songs Cowboy Scene and Many Phones Ago out there. We’ve been working on them for a long time and can’t thank Adults enough for asking us to do this split, else I’m not sure we ever would have finished these songs. The songs both deal with regret and coming to terms with your abilities and achievements, something that’s been playing on our minds pretty heavily as our thirties relentlessly beat us over our heads with sticks.”

“adults are one of our favourite bands that we’ve ever gotten to play with and lovely people to boot! To get the opportunity to work with them on a split is a real dream come true and there are no other coattails we’d rather ride!” - Spank Hair

“who doesn’t like silly twiddly emo? not us. listening to spank hair is like getting wrecked by all yr pals on crash team racing in 2004 except now yr not 13 and yr nervous and anxious and have to go to work in the morning. but this time they’re cowboys, or had a phone, or something. maybe all three. who cares. spank hair are lush, and silly and twiddly, just like their songs. luke brings the riffs, ali brings the emo, hannah brings the beats. they’ve put out some of our fav lil digital records over the past few years on heavenly creature recs and we’ve played a bunch of fun shows with them too. it’s v exciting to be able to put out some music with them together, and to write a lil zine! this is just the start.” - adults

* * *

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. 

adults are carl, joe, joely and tom

Spank Hair

Spank Hair formed with the intention of playing one show and immediately breaking up in 2017 and have been rocking hard ever since. Formed out of Oxford’s DIY scene, and inspired by bands like Algernon Cadwallader, American Football and Say Anything, Spank Hair like to play fast, loud and tasteful emo rock songs about the weight of regret and the desire to make it in the big leagues, as a cowboy. 

Spank Hair is Ali Crawford, Hannah Watts and Luke Allmond.

“their ability to create airy, jangly, joyful and carefree music from beneath the weight the world is a shared skill and one that’s just so endearing. Their new four track split EP …in the big league showcases this brilliantly.” [8/10] Noizze

“a collection of four sparkling, emo-tinged tracks on their split EP …in the big league could be the release of two future emo darlings; only time shall tell” [7/10] Boolin Tunes

“a beacon of hope and noisy joy in the disintegrating world” Scene Music

“adults are upbeat, energetic, and rough around the edges, and Spank Hair is their moody, melodic counterpart” Loud Women

New Starts - Under The Striplights [Digital]

Artist: New Starts
Title: Under The Striplights
Format: digital single
Cat#: Fika102SG1
Release date: 8th May 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

Under The Striplights is the first track to be taken from the debut New Starts album [More Break-Up Songs].

It’s a love song or at least for a plea for a simpler more straightforward type of love. A couple on the edge of a break up can’t agree on anything or where to eat or where to drink.

Under the Striplights or Under the Moon, means they could be anywhere, the location isn’t the problem, the solution can be found anywhere. 

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.”

“there’s an undeniable freshness here, that slightly off-kilter collision of ideas that’s at the heart of all the best bands, the propulsive rhythm creating a base for the guitars to play off against one another, Darren’s driving melodies battling against Joely’s choppier, against the grain style, reminiscent of Graham Coxon’s playing on Blur’s spiky self-titled album. An intriguing introduction, New Starts feels more than just a name, by digging back into their earliest musical memories, they might just have created a blueprint for where these talented bunch of musicians are going next.” For The Rabbits

“it’s a supergroup of what’s cool in the UK underground scene. They hold the song in these jagged bouncing chords, while Hayman delivers his traditional idiosyncratic lyrics across the tune; this particular tune seems to be bleeding with notes of confessional, which makes sense as this is another album filled with break-up songs. Pop songs with great punch? I’m betting New Starts have it in loads” Austin Town Hall

“fuzzy as heck and wouldn't seem out of place dropping in the late-70s” Thats Good Enough For Me

“Fresh spiky pop that fuses with lonely guitar rock and a desire for simplistic love, but most of all they just want us to like them, and we do.” Freak Magnet

Brooklyn Vegan

Mammoth Penguins - Here [12"/CD]

Artist: Mammoth Penguins
Title: Here
Format: 12” gatefold LP on orange smoke vinyl / digipack CD
Cat#: Fika100
Release date: 3rd May 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

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.

Press for Here

“Here has a genuine, down-to-earth quality, like old friends on a lunch date chatting about life. The pieces work together beautifully. It’s a heavy album, but it’s comforting in a way that creates a place for your head and feels like home.” Noizze [7/10]

“showcases the best of the band’s talents, and the various forays into different genres work because they give them enough time to make an impact… the band sound on top of their game” Distorted Sound [7/10]

“On Here, the band sounds like Cambridge’s answer to The Beths, or vice versa as a a matter of fact considering Mammoth Penguins predates The Beths by a couple of years. Both bands have a similar knack for putting the purest pop melodies in a punchy package, skillfully balancing saccharine hooks with a touch of bittersweetness. It’s a formula that perfectly complements Kupa’s distinctive voice, which not only carries but also enriches the songs.” Add To Wantlist

“There is something ineffably uplifting about their music and they use the holy triad of guitar (Emma Kupa), bass (Mark Boxall) and drums (Tom Barden) to incredible effect, knowing when to woo the audience with soft riffs and charming melodies and when to stomp the screws out of the distortion pedal and get the heartbeat racing” JoyZine [track by track]

“irresistible, straight out of the traps, racing forward and never looking back” Hit The North

“What the album really leaves you with, though, is the sense that there is an emotional core underneath the rock stylings. ‘I Know The Signs’ is alt-country (with shades of Courtney Barnett), and reflects on a relationship going south” Get In Her Ears

“Throughout the album, Emma’s vocals soar with a rawness and vulnerability that cuts straight to the heart. From the introspective introspection of “Blue Plaque” to the anthemic energy of “Nothing and Everything,” Mammoth Penguins invite one to join them on a journey of self-discovery and musical exploration. A journey that is as exhilarating as it is deeply personal.” Amplify The Noise

“Here is full of sharply-rendered stuff, with each cut delivering hooks and heart” A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed

“a soft pop punk album resembling the likes of Weezer” Alt Corner

Adam Ross - Shrinking [Digital]

Artist: Adam Ross
Title: Shrinking
Format: digital
Cat#: Fika099SG3
Release date: 17th April 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

"Did you think I wasn't ready? 

Did you think I had to grow?

I've been shrinking since before the day I met you

 Don't you know?"

Shrinking is the third single from Scottish singer-songwriter Adam Ross's forthcoming solo album, Littoral Zone (out 24/05/24). It showcases a newfound sense of musical melancholy and lyrical contemplation far removed from the sprightly indie-pop Adam has become known for with his band Randolph's Leap. 

The album is produced by multiple Scottish Album of the Year Award nominee 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.

Adam explains:

"This song helped define the direction and purpose of Littoral Zone. My first solo album, Staring At Mountains, was very stripped-back and I knew I wanted the next one to have more of a band sound. But it had to have its own identity and justify its existence as a solo project detached from Randolph's Leap. Shrinking explores sounds and feelings that I haven't attempted before in my songwriting as it moves away from indie-pop and into something more laidback and poignant, I suppose. It's a ponderous song about self-doubt and it was built around a simple piano arrangement with a sort of loungey 70s folk-pop sensibility.

"The beginning of the vocal melody was partly inspired by the traditional Gaelic ballad Mo Mhathair after hearing Callum Kennedy's version on the radio during a long car journey while at a low ebb. The emotion in the melody hit me hard. The lyrics were slightly inspired by the poem Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie Smith and are about the way we often mask our feelings of inadequacy."

Shrinking is released on 17th April as a digital single. It comes ahead of the release of Littoral Zone by Fika Recordings on 24th May on vinyl, CD and digital. Adam launches the album with a live gig featuring a 6-piece band on 30th May at Mono in Glasgow.

Mammoth Penguins - Flyers [Digital]

Artist: Mammoth Penguins
Title: Flyers
Format: Digital Single
Cat#: Fika0100SG3
Release date: 10th April 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

Fresh from a slot at Wales Goes Pop over Easter, Cambridge indie pop trio Mammoth Penguins are pleased to reveal their new single ‘Flyers’ set for release on 10th April 2024.

The track is the latest to be taken from their forthcoming new album Here set for release on 3rd May 2024 via Fika Recordings, and follows on from lead singles ‘SPECIES’ and ‘Everything That I Write’ released in the last months.

Commenting on the track, vocalist Emma Kupa says: “I was going through some old boxes and came across a load of papers from gigs - posters, flyers and set lists. The flyers and posters were often really beautiful but then I also remembered how few people were there at the time and what a shame that was. All that effort by the promoters and the bands. I then started thinking about the other hard bits. It’s a slog being in a band; I really don’t understand why we kept going for years without anyone else encouraging us, but we did.
In that moment I picked up my guitar and wrote and sang this song with a simple few chords, then when I took it to the band it became this angular power punk song.”

Recorded, edited, and mixed at Sickroom Studios in Norfolk by Owen Turner, the new album was produced by drummer Tom Barden, with string arrangements, cello and violin on Here and Success by Mary Erskine, and mastered by Joe Caithness.

Here leans into the band’s raw pop-punk power-trio sound more than ever, with a deep growl of layered guitars and bursts of percussion and harmony. The songs and artwork explore themes of finding a home for yourself and familiarity with people and places.

Although they return to a classic three-piece sound, Mammoth Penguins 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 ‘Penguins have already been hard at work smashing some high-profile support slots in the lead up to the album release, including Allo Darlin’s joyous reunion at Islington Assembly Hall (Oct 2023) and Muncie Girls last ever London show (Dec 2023).

They head out on a UK co-headline tour with Broken Chanter (Chemikal Underground) in support of the new album in May 2024, with tickets on sale now.

Mammoth Penguins live:
May 23 - Cambridge - The Blue Moon
May 24 - Rainham - The Oast
May 25 - Coventry - Just Dropped In Records
May 30 - London - The Grace
May 31 - Oxford - Florence Park Community Centre
June 1 - Sheffield - Delicious Clam

July 13-14: Indiefjord festival, Norway

https://linktr.ee/mammothpenguins

https://linktr.ee/fikarecordings

Mammoth Penguins - Everything That I Write [Digital]

Artist: Mammoth Penguins
Title: Everything That I Write
Format: Digital Single
Cat#: Fika0100SG2
Release date: 13th March 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

Fresh from a slot at Indiepop All-dayer in Leicester, Cambridge indie pop trio Mammoth Penguins are pleased to reveal their new single ‘Everything That I Write’ set for release on 13th March 2024.

The track is the latest to be taken from their forthcoming new album Here set for release on 3rd May 2024 via Fika Recordings, and follows on from lead single ‘SPECIES’ released last month.


Commenting on the track, which examines the dynamics of trust and intimacy in a long term relationship, vocalist Emma Kupa says: “Transparency is important in relationships and sharing your location can help someone not worry when your partner is travelling home late at night. This song is mainly about when someone has access to every part of your life and brain, and then in the last verse I’m just complaining.”


Recorded, edited, and mixed at Sickroom Studios in Norfolk by Owen Turner, the new album was produced by drummer Tom Barden, with string arrangements, cello and violin on Here and Success by Mary Erskine, and mastered by Joe Caithness.

Here leans into the band’s raw pop-punk power-trio sound more than ever, with a deep growl of layered guitars and bursts of percussion and harmony. The songs and artwork explore themes of finding a home for yourself and familiarity with people and places.

Although they return to a classic three-piece sound, Mammoth Penguins 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 ‘Penguins have already been hard at work smashing some high-profile support slots in the lead up to the album release, including Allo Darlin’s joyous reunion at Islington Assembly Hall (Oct 2023) and Muncie Girls last ever London show (Dec 2023).

They play Wales Goes Pop in March, before heading out on a UK co-headline tour with Broken Chanter in support of the new album in May 2024, with tickets on sale now.

Alison Eales - Four for a Boy [7"]

Artist: Alison Eales
Title: Four for a Boy
Format: 7” vinyl EP | digital
Cat#: Fika101
Release date: 8th March 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

Following the release of her debut solo album Mox Nox last year, Four for a Boy is a four-track EP of songs co-written by Alison Eales and her long-term collaborator Garry Hoggan.

Like its sister record Mox Nox, the EP was recorded and mixed by Paul Savage at Chem 19 studios, mastered by Reuben Taylor, and features artwork by Rhian Nicholas at The Passenger Press – but in a departure from the approach to the album, Four for a Boy keeps its arrangements sparse in order to showcase Hoggan’s gift for melody.

The songs

The lead track is Minuet, a minimalist love song that pits its protagonists against zombies and nanobots and which is accompanied by a lyric video by magician Billy Reid.

Rain Song, with its drip-drip-dripping ukulele and piano, captures the experience of suffering with depression, while the shining autoharp and accordion of The Earliest Blue expresses the hope of recovery. These are also accompanied by an animated lyric video.

The EP closes with Play Along, a plaintive reimagining of the Carpenters’ Superstar.

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. She is also a member of Glasgow Madrigirls and has collaborated with bands including The Color Waves (USA), The Very Most (USA), The Just Joans (Glasgow), Featherfin (Norway) and The Powdered Earth (UK).

Her debut solo album Mox Nox was released on Fika Recordings in March 2023.

“Delightful is also one of the apt descriptions for Alison Eales’ Four for a Boy EP, a sweet collection fuelled by ukuleles, accordions and charming vocals. It could be the ideal antidote to tough days.” Snack Mag

“Four songs is all you get and four songs is that you need when you are in the company of Alison Eales. Her eloquent sentimentalism stole my heart a long time ago and I won’t be asking for it back anytime soon. Pure class”. Blues Bunny

“supremely talented” Glasgow Music City

Adam Ross - Apogee [Digital]

Artist: Adam Ross
Title: Apogee
Format: digital
Cat#: Fika099SG2
Release date: 6th March 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

"I am the way I am, I’ve always been this way

I have no choice in this, my dear

You said I’m wrong, you said we always have a choice

You said it’s consequence I fear"

Apogee is the second single from Adam Ross's new album, Littoral Zone. The song is an optimistic evocation of the strength of love, with Adam’s thoughtful lyrics tied up in a sweeping orchestral-indie production (courtesy of Andrew Wasylyk) which brings to mind the likes of Camera Obscura and Belle & Sebastian.

The gorgeous string arrangements were written by Pete Harvey and the song also features guest vocals by Gillian Fleetwood and brass by Rachel Simpson. It was recorded during a series of sessions in Andrew Wasylyk’s Dundee studio and the release is accompanied by a live video featuring an 8-piece ensemble and filmed in Abdie & Dunbog Parish Church in Lindores.

Adam says about the song:

“I wrote Apogee during a pretty special two-month songwriting stay in a former lighthouse keeper’s cottage at Todhead near Catterline a few years ago. My wife would visit at the weekends and then I’d be left on my own throughout the week so this song was for her, really.

“Todhead Lighthouse was where I wrote and recorded half of my first solo album, Staring At Mountains, but Apogee didn’t feel right for that album. I had a couple of different ideas about where to take it but Andrew suggested Camera Obscura as a loose reference point since we knew were going to be lucky enough to work with a string ensemble. When I arrived at the string recording session, this is the song they were playing and it was a really lovely moment for me to walk into the room and hear it all coming together. I love Pete Harvey’s arrangement.”

Apogee is released on 6th March as a digital single. It follows the first single, Free Will, which has received regular radio play on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC 6 Music and Amazing Radio. The album, Littoral Zone, is released by Fika Recordings on 24th May on vinyl, CD and digital which is currently available to pre-order.

Mammoth Penguins - Species [Digital]

Artist: Mammoth Penguins
Title: Species
Format: Digital Single
Cat#: Fika0100SG1
Release date: 13th Feb 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

Cambridge indie pop trio Mammoth Penguins are delighted to announce their return with new album Here set for release on 3rd May 2024 via Fika Recordings.

To celebrate the news, the band are sharing lead single ‘Species’ which is released on 13th February 2024 via all good digital service providers—a jagged, explosive firework of a song from vocalist Emma Kupa about finding a place in the world, that’s rapidly becoming a live favourite with fans.

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, Mark Boxall (bass, keys, vocals) and Tom Barden (drums, percussion, 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 indie pop with spiky guitars and Kupa’s frank, confessional songwriting.

Following the release of 2019’s big, bold, and confident album There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, plus 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 laying down material.

Recorded, edited, and mixed at Sickroom Studios in Norfolk by Owen Turner, the new album was produced by drummer Tom Barden, with string arrangements, cello and violin on Here and Success by Mary Erskine, and mastered by Joe Caithness.

Here leans into the band’s raw pop-punk power-trio sound more than ever, with a deep growl of layered guitars and bursts of percussion and harmony. The songs and artwork explore themes of finding a home for yourself and familiarity with people and places. Although they return to a classic three-piece sound, Mammoth Penguins 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 new record’s sonic palette builds on their 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.

Their third album, There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, was released in April 2019 via Fika Recordings, exploring classic themes of love, loss and conflict (mostly) given a hopeful and optimistic spin that opposition is neither inevitable nor hopeless.

The band have previously seen support from BBC 6music, Radio X, idobi Radio, Brooklyn Vegan, Louder Than War, London in Stereo, Drowned in Sound, Exclaim!, God Is In The TV, and a whole host of blogs and specialist radio shows for their raw and incisive brand of lo-fi pop.

The ‘Penguins have already been hard at work smashing some high-profile support slots in the lead up to the album release, including 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 2024, with tickets on sale now.