A DIY INDIEPOP VINYL & CASSETTE LABEL

New Starts - A Little Stone [Digital]

Artist: New Starts
Title: A Little Stone
Format: digital single
Cat#: Fika102SG3
Release date: 17th July 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

A Little Stone is the latest track to be taken from the debut New Starts album [More Break-Up Songs, out in August 2024].

I said the phrase “A Little Stone” unthinkenly one day to a friend to describe my mood. ‘I’ve got a little stone in my heart’. Not heart broken, not devastated it’s just heavier than it should be and feels wrong. This is my favourite guitar part from Joely. It’s ferocious. 

Video shot and edited by Fraser Watson, Foliage Films.
Rolling ball artist Rory Buckley.

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.”

Fightmilk - Summer Bodies [Digital]

Artist: Fightmilk
Title: Summer Bodies
Format: digital single
Cat#: Fika104SG1
Release date: 27th June 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

Fightmilk Return With New Single ‘Summer Bodies’ Critiquing Patriarchal Beauty Standards

London “strop-pop” quartet Fightmilk are returning to action with raging new single ‘Summer Bodies’ released 27th June 2024, their first new material in three years.

Angsty and uplifting in equal measure, it’s an instantly catchy singalong anthem, combining the band’s trademark tongue-in-cheek wit with a swirling energy and gritty raw emotion.

Commenting on the track, vocalist Lily says: “It's about how women and femmes are constantly bombarded with media telling us how to be our best and most beautiful selves, or, bluntly, how to bully your mind and body into an image set by constantly moving goalposts—straight teeth, white skin, feminine but not girly, cool but not threatening, skinny waist, snatched jawline. Products that promise to shrink you in the guise of 'wellness'. And if you don’t look like that, you’re supposed to hate yourself until you do. No thanks. Our favourite bit in this song is where we all take turns unleashing a big scream.”

The first taste of their much-anticipated third album, the band recently signed to Fika Recordings (Mammoth Penguins, Fortitude Valley) and Insert Name Here, with further details and news to be revealed over the coming months.

New single ‘Summer Bodies’ questions patriarchal society’s ridiculous and ever-changing expectations of women’s bodies and the futile quest to ‘be sexy’, with Lily’s dead-pan commentary weaving between buoyant harmonies and gloriously scuzzy hooks.

A fierce ode to self-love in the face of the onslaught of damaging beauty standards that we are constantly bombarded with, it also sees Fightmilk flirt with a heavier side to their sound than fans may be used to.

So, as the warmer weather approaches, wear whatever makes you feel comfortable, pay no mind to the incessant Instagram ads about fad diets or corrective procedures, and know that you look great - whatever size, age or gender you may be. As bassist Healey summarises: “life's too short, do whatever the f*ck you want, do no harm and take no sh*t."

With international acclaim from the likes of STEREOGUM, Kerrang! Magazine, The Quietus, DIY Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan and The Line Of Best Fit already under their belts, and having sold out headline gigs across the UK, in addition to sharing stages with bands such as Art Brut, Yawners and Problem Patterns, Fightmilk look set to build on their reputation as one of the DIY scene’s best loved bands in the run-up to their much-anticipated third album.

Taking influence from a broad spread of artists including Sharon van Etten, The Beths, Charly Bliss, Bully, Speedy Ortiz, Liz Phair, The Lemonheads, Japanese Breakfast, and that dog., FIGHTMILK are the perfect soundtrack to your “why can’t I adult like everyone else my age?” life.

The band formed in the beer gardens of London in 2015 when Lily and Alex decided to turn their then-recent respective breakups into FIGHTMILK, creating an indiepop soundtrack by which to navigate millennial life. Their first two EPs – one self-released in 2016 (The Curse of Fightmilk), and the next (Pity Party) put out through uber-indie label Fierce Panda – strode ahead of signing to Reckless Yes for the release of their first album.

Their 2018 debut LP Not With That Attitude was released on limited edition pink vinyl, CD and digital, gaining a fan in Steve Lamacq (BBC 6Music) as well as praise from Echoes and Dust, Drowned in Sound, and Louder Than War Magazine, appearing in many end of year picks.

Now sold out (but still available digitally of course), their debut is well loved by listeners and critics alike who recognised a perfectly written set of alt-rock tunes capturing the chaos and shambles of relationships wrapped in anthemic power-pop riffs.

While the band planned to take their time crafting forthcoming second album Contender, they hadn’t factored in a global pandemic and the delays it would cause. Marking a maturing of their sound the record also sees a step-change in their writing and recording, as they welcomed new member Healey (formerly of Wolf Girl) on bass, and took a more collaborative approach than past efforts.

Like the writing process, recording also took more time, again thanks to Covid-19. Recorded in two sessions a year apart at Dean Street Studios in London, the band saw plans for a UK tour suddenly pulled as the release of the first single from the record, ‘I’m Starting To Think You Don’t Even Want To Go To Space’, coincided with the first lockdown in March 2020.

While waiting to be able to return to the studio and complete work on the project, the band took creative detours throughout 2020 with home-recorded Christmas (Fightmilk and Cookies) and cover (The FME EP) EPs raising money for Girls Rock London and The Trussell Trust.

Fightmilk released their second album Contender in May 2021 to a surge of international press support, with enthusiastic coverage from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, The Line of Best Fit, The Quietus, Kerrang! Magazine, DIY, Louder Than War and more, with radio spins from Tom Robinson and Steve Lamacq at BBC 6Music, John Kennedy at Radio X, and a host of specialist and regional support.

New Starts - Asbestos Roof [Digital]

Artist: New Starts
Title: Asbestos Roof
Format: digital single
Cat#: Fika102SG2
Release date: 12th June 2024
Bandcamp | Spotify

Asbestos Roof is the second track to be taken from the debut New Starts album [More Break-Up Songs, out in August 2024].

I have written a few songs about getting older but they are often an internal solution to the situation. In this song anything is possible if eyes are closed and the imagination is used. We can be young, we can be anywhere, we can be anything. 

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

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

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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.