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.

Adam Ross - Littoral Zone

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.

Mammoth Penguins - Here

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.”
More Break Up Songs is a collection of 12 Break Up songs because Darren broke up with someone. Again. “I suck’, he says, “But it’s never anyone’s fault. It makes me very sad but I do have to work through these things in song and there’s always something to learn. I try to make songs about breakups that could be understood by both parties. I’m not interested in nasty songs.”

Opening song ‘Little Stone in my Heart’ blisters along with Joely’s wildest guitars. The protagonist will do anything to make things right, but nothing ever is.

‘Under the Striplights’ has driving, choppy, incessant riffs, and is about the need to be anywhere but somewhere other than here. We could be under the moon or under the strip lights as long as we have each other.
Another barely kept rule that Darren instigated on this album was that each song would be a tonal equivalent to one from The Velvet Underground’s third album. To that end ‘Don’t Need Persuading’ is this record’s ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ with the narrator being unable to break free of a vortex, knowing they will stay the night against all better judgment. 
‘I’ve had a long standing distrust of the guitar,’ says Darren, ‘despite it being my primary instrument for twenty years. I thought it was time I made a record with two guitars and drums and bass. I wanted it to be bright, immediate and young sounding, despite the fact I’m old. We recorded it in four days and I think this might be the record a lot of my audience has wanted me to make for a long time.’
fikarecordings.com/artists/new-starts
@darrenhayman
@fikarecordings

New Starts - More Break-Up Songs

Fightmilk - No Souvenirs

The Norwegian super-group with members from Making Marks, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Mildfire, Flight Mode and Elva return with a third album of original Christmas songs. 

Get into that alternative, Nordic Christmas spirit!

Christmas III at its heart is an alt-Christmas album: the songs are firmly rooted in December’s festivities, albeit not usually relying on the season’s traditional reference points. The songs hone in on the more ambivalent sides of Christmas - family, customs and the passing of time - with a keen eye towards the holidays’ most obvious function in countries close to the Artic circle: getting through the cold and dark times to celebrate the winter solstice and the turning of the sun. 

Drawing from Sufjan Stevens’ epic indie Christmas compendium and Phil Spector’s wall of sound classic A Christmas Gift From You, Christmas III is built on shimmering guitars, snow filled piano lines, gentle strings, springy vocals and dynamic drums - all steadily conducted by Sunturns’ own Sjur Lyseid (Flight Mode, The Little Hands of Asphalt) in the producer’s seat at his Globus studio in Oslo.

With three songwriters (Ola Innset, Einar Stray and Sjur Lyseid) contributing to Christmas III, there’s an ever shifting sense of reflections. Parenthood and the struggles of the dark Norwegian winter is behind Ola’s track First Winter. “Some times I feel bad about bringing children into such a difficult world. Not so much with respect to daylight and the seasons, they’re just going to have to learn how to live with it, but with many other things – like war, poverty, climate change and even just death.” 
Back In Town might have been inspired by a discussion over whether Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” is a Christmas song or not, but it’s written about his youngest daughter Klara, to his elder daughter, about taking holidays with your family in a town you once lived.

Einar pulls in Phoenix and Mew by the way of Jesus and Mary Chain on Crash Course Christmas, resulting in a seasick wave of a pop tune. “It’s a song about the guilt of not prioritizing your relationships. It’s been year of rainchecks and Christmas finally gives you some time to reflect. You’ve experienced so much and changed so much as a person that you almost forget your origins. Coming home for Christmas can then be a ritiual of finding your way back to what you left behind."
Drawing on the knitwear from the film Love, Actually, Turtle Neck, taps into the Backstreet Boys by way of Mac Demarco, with a sneaky reference to the legendary Norwegian Christmas hit En Stjerne Skinner I Natt.

Album closer This Christmas / Next Christmas leans in on the hook for the Norwegian Christmas TV show Jul i Blåfjell, a multi-generational seasonal staple (essentially a daily children’s advent calendar kids show). “The song is about your parents ageing and needing your help – possibly really far away - while at the same time having your own children to take care of”.

If previous albums Christmas I (2011) and II (2015) are somewhat different from each other, then Christmas III represents a fusion of the two. Sunturns’ debut is full of youthful exuberance and was recorded with plentiful overdubs in Oslo, while 2015’s follow up is more pensive and somewhat darker, and was recorded live during one week in the Swedish forests. Einar elaborates: “I love making records like this: short, effective sessions with limited time and therefore no bland ‘perfection’. There’s a nerve to knowing you can collectively bring it all together without the luxury of time”. Christmas III represents a return to the lighter tone, on at least some of the songs, but with the wisdom of age that emerged on the second. You can’t just return to your twenties, however much you might want to!

Merry Christmas!

Sunturns - Christmas III

Leeds quartet Crake have today announced their debut album, ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’. It arrives via Fika Recordings on April 8th. The band have also shared the album’s lead single, ‘Winter’s Song’. 

Led by enigmatic songwriter Rowan Sandle, Crake is driven by her endless curiosity. Armed with her gently cracking vocal, and inspiration from writers like Shirley Jackson and Nan Shepherd, she sings of crinoids, slime mould and pussy willow. When they supported Buck Meek at Brudenell Social Club, Buck found himself so beguiled by Sandle and her band that he invited them to support Big Thief on their UK and EU tour in 2019. Crake duly obliged and have been building towards their debut full-length ever since. 

Much of the forthcoming album revolves around the death of Sandle’s friend Anna, who died in Syria after being hit by a Turkish air strike. Anna was working for a woman’s liberation group in the war-stricken country when the tragedy took place. ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ explores the grief that followed and the lessons learnt from dealing with such a significant loss. 

Sandle does, however, find space to explore more themes alongside this grief, such as cruelty and queer nature. On lead single ‘Winter’s Song’ she acknowledges the cruelty and coldness that exists within us all, and questions how we can continue to grow and love whilst remaining true to that. 

Speaking about the track, she said: “Winter’s Song is about the absolute mundane beauty of being fallible. It's a true story, I saw the moon rise but swore it was the sun setting. I think about this line a lot: “keep a little coldness in you, just wear it soft and gentle” Be soft, be kind, be honest. Being unremarkable has its own beauty.” 

Sandle’s love for queer nature is so fervent that it makes the experience of listening to Crake akin to that of stumbling on an entirely new world. Sandle believes that life isn’t as black and white as we’ve been taught, and thinks nature holds the key to revealing the true nature of human experience. The appearances of things like slime mould - single-celled organisms that form a single body when in search of food  - brittle starfish - a type of starfish whose awareness isn’t concentrated in one place - and other such oddities furnish ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ with a folklore all of its own. 

‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ will send you down multiple rabbit holes and you’ll emerge from each with a newfound appreciation for the complexities of the world. Perhaps even more important than this though is the humanity that lies at the very heart of this debut full-length. Whether it’s in the sensitivity in how she portrays the loss of her friend, the depiction of our most base instincts - namely cruelty, passion and love - or the sincere, pure quality of the songwriting itself, it’s this that makes ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ essential, and invaluable listening.

Winter's Song

Crake - Winter's Song

Led by enigmatic songwriter Rowan Sandle, Crake is driven by her endless curiosity. Armed with her gently cracking vocal, and inspiration from writers like Shirley Jackson and Nan Shepherd, she sings of crinoids, slime mould and pussy willow. When they supported Buck Meek at Brudenell Social Club, Buck found himself so beguiled by Sandle and her band that he invited them to support Big Thief on their UK and EU tour in 2019. Crake duly obliged and have been building towards their debut full-length ever since. 

Much of the forthcoming album revolves around the death of Sandle’s friend Anna, who died in Syria after being hit by a Turkish air strike. Anna was working for a woman’s liberation group in the 
war-stricken country when the tragedy took place. ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ explores the grief that followed and the lessons learnt from dealing with such a significant loss. 

Sandle does, however, find space to explore more themes alongside this grief, such as cruelty and queer nature. On lead single ‘Winter’s Song’ she acknowledges the cruelty and coldness that exists within us all, and questions how we can continue to grow and love whilst remaining true to that. 

Speaking about the track, she said: “Winter’s Song is about the absolute mundane beauty of being fallible. It's a true story, I saw the moon rise but swore it was the sun setting. I think about this line a lot: “keep a little coldness in you, just wear it soft and gentle” Be soft, be kind, be honest. Being unremarkable has its own beauty.” 

Sandle’s love for queer nature is so fervent that it makes the experience of listening to Crake akin to that of stumbling on an entirely new world. Sandle believes that life isn’t as black and white as we’ve been taught, and thinks nature holds the key to revealing the true nature of human experience. The appearances of things like slime mould - single-celled organisms that form a single body when in search of food  - brittle starfish - a type of starfish whose awareness isn’t concentrated in one place - and other such oddities furnish ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ with a folklore all of its own. 

‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ will send you down multiple rabbit holes and you’ll emerge from each with a newfound appreciation for the complexities of the world. Perhaps even more important than this though is the humanity that lies at the very heart of this debut full-length. Whether it’s in the sensitivity in how she portrays the loss of her friend, the depiction of our most base instincts - namely cruelty, passion and love - or the 
sincere, pure quality of the songwriting itself, it’s this that makes ‘Humans’ Worst Habits’ essential, and 
invaluable listening. 

“A pensive, dejected moment of magic, but magic nonetheless” Gold Flake Paint
“Charming and intimate alt-folk” Dork
“The guitars sizzle like lightning bolts striking against an otherwise clear sky, while Sandle’s distinct, hoarse vocal plays like another instrument” Secret Meeting
“In a world of cynics, [Crake] make you believe anything might still be possible” For The Rabbits 

https://fikarecordings.com/artists/crake

Crake are:
Rowan Sandle - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Russell Searle - Electric Guitar, Piano
Rob Slater - Drums / Backing Vocals
Sarah Statham - Bass / Backing Vocals

Humans' Worst Habits

Rabbit

Crake - Rabbit

STANLEY BRINKS AND THE WAVE PICTURES
Orange Juice
Fika Recordings
20th January 2014
7” orange vinyl / download



Stanley Brinks is joined by The Wave Pictures on their first joint release for 4 years with upcoming 7” single Orange Juice.

Orange Juice is an anthemic singalong about a recipe for happiness - “a little bit of you, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, ephedrine and orange juice”.
B-side Maybe I Will See You Again is, rather aptly after the concoction of Orange Juice before it, a song about standing at a street corner with a hangover. It has previously appeared on the album ‘Stanley Brinks Hovers’, but this is a new rock'n roll version backed by The Wave Pictures. 

Neither track features on the new Stanley Brinks & The Wave Pictures album ‘Gin’ due for 3rd March release. 

Stanley Brinks began performing officially as André Herman Düne in 1999, sharing lead vocals, guitar playing and songwriting with his brother David in the band Herman Düne for  a number of years. They released several albums and toured extensively in UK, gaining and owing a lot to great support from John Peel. He has used many monikers for various side-projects, but since leaving Herman Düne in 2006, he has been known solely as Stanley Brinks.
Born in Paris, Stan has been living between New York, San Francisco, Malta and Berlin for about a decade, always on the move. 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.  

The Wave Pictures are David Tattersall, Franic Rozycki and Jonny “Huddersfield” Helm. Formed in 1998 when Franic and David lived in a village called Wymeswold, the band played with several drummers until Jonny became a permanent member in 2003 replacing Hugh J Noble. In the beginning the band learned to play together by covering Jonathan Richman songs but soon David was writing lots of original material. 
They have since released five studio albums to critical acclaim and played numerous sessions on BBC 6 Music, Radio 1 and Xfm. The interest generated by these recordings has enabled The Wave Pictures to play shows all over the world with artists including Jeffrey Lewis, Darren Hayman, Stanley Brinks, Freschard and Herman Dune.

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Orange Juice

“a cacophony of clattering drums and belt-it-out choruses Los Campesinos! or Martha would be proud of evidence that Adults seem to have stumbled into something rather marvellous” 
For The Rabbits

“There’s an ample buoyancy from the vocal work, and the guitars are crunchy, though I like how they’re a bit tempered here; think of Martha having to play at your local library…hooks, but just a little more subdued. There’s just something about this song that radiates joy” Austin Town Hall

* * *

South London DIY punk outfit adults today release the final single single “tfl has a lot to answer for” form their forthcoming debut album “for everything, always”, coming out on October 14th on Fika Recordings.

The new single things we achieve is “a reflection of drinking way too much in yr mid 20s, staying up too late, burning yrself out and how it impacts on yr relationships and mental health” it’s two and a half minutes of delightfully scrappy, catchy DIY pop that’s sure to appeal to fans of Los Campesinos, Martha and Johnny Foreigner.

adults are a noisy pop band desperately clinging on to the ghosts of 2009. 
Their songs are a silly, joyful, and occasionally sad, look back at the tail end of their 20s, a way to grapple with breakups, parties, alcohol and loneliness, and looking hopefully into the future.
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. They’re based in south London.

adults are
carl (he/they) - bass
joe (he/him) - drums
joely (she/they) - guitar and singing
tom (he/him) - guitar, synth, singing
https://linktr.ee/sclubadults

adults dates:
Sept 28: The Victoria, London
Oct 20: The Cavendish Arms, London
Oct 22: The Oast, Rainham
Nov 12: The Blue Moon, Cambridge

adults - tfl has a lot to answer for

Stanley Brinks is joined by The Wave Pictures for their third album together; their first since 2010’s ‘Another One Just Like That’.

Recorded entirely live in the studio, without headphones or overdubs, and with a good deal of improvisation, ‘Gin’ is a modern-sounding, in a way avant-garde, old school recording of text-driven songs. The Wave Pictures didn't get a chance to learn the songs before the session, Stan having forgotten to put a stamp on the demo tape he'd sent them from Berlin.

To anyone familiar with Stanley Brinks' huge discography - more than 100 albums - ‘Gin’ might sound considerably more raw and less sophisticated than some of his previous recordings. However this body of work remains rich in jazzy sounds and original structures, the songs looser and full of playfulness, the lyrics encapsulating their essence.

It goes without saying that Gin - the drink - was the inspiration for the album; while writing, and while recording. 

‘Gin’ was recorded at Soup Studio, London, by Simon Trought and Giles Barrett, one sunny day in May 2013. A few months before, when Stan was at the studio playing guitar and sax on The Wave Pictures' ‘City Forgiveness’, they recorded one of his songs - ‘Maybe I Will See You Again’, now the B-side of the ‘Orange Juice’ 45 - just for fun. Giles Barrett, who was engineering, suggested a whole album, and he made it happen.

Stanley Brinks began performing officially as André Herman Düne in 1999, sharing lead vocals, guitar playing and songwriting with his brother David in the band Herman Düne for  a number of years. They released several albums and toured extensively in UK, gaining and owing a lot to great support from John Peel. He has used many monikers for various side-projects, but since leaving Herman Düne in 2006, he has been known solely as Stanley Brinks.
Born in Paris, Stan has been living between New York, San Francisco, Malta and Berlin for about a decade, always on the move. 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.  

The Wave Pictures are David Tattersall, Franic Rozycki and Jonny “Huddersfield” Helm. Formed in 1998 when Franic and David lived in a village called Wymeswold, the band played with several drummers until Jonny became a permanent member in 2003 replacing Hugh J Noble. In the beginning the band learned to play together by covering Jonathan Richman songs but soon David was writing lots of original material. 
They have since released five studio albums to critical acclaim and played numerous sessions on BBC 6 Music, Radio 1 and Xfm. The interest generated by these recordings has enabled The Wave Pictures to play shows all over the world with artists including Jeffrey Lewis, Darren Hayman, Stanley Brinks, Freschard and Herman Dune.

From the dusky romantic feel of opener ‘One Minute Of Darkness’ to the love song, encompassing nautical metaphors, which is the last track ‘Not To Kiss You’, the album takes in the night, love & passion, Krishna, the modern way of life, exploration and moving on; all echoed brilliantly in the rich and varied musical interweave - by turns a jam, a calypso, some indie rock, a groovy mantra, a little voodoo rhythm and some good old regular country.

All topped off with the Stanley Brinks endearing signature command of naïvely rhymed,
overenunciated English. He touches the language in a way which really, no native speaker could get away with.
‘Gin’ is quite simply a beautiful, though-provoking,  uncomplicated album.

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Not To Kiss You

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Parking Lots

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Light And Slow

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Time For Me

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - One Minute Of Darkness

Somewhere To Go

Owl & Mouse - Don't Read The Classics

Alison Eales - Ever Forward

Having already released 2 of the best albums of 2014 (Gin on Fika Recordings, and Boom Biddy Boom on wiaiwya) Stanley Brinks and Freschard are releasing Pizza Espresso - an album of duets, and a collaboration between both labels – at the end of August. 

Pizza Espresso is an album of love songs about drinking and drinking songs about love. Picture Emmylou and Gram relocated to Berlin with a guitar, a pennywhistle and a washboard and writing ten gorgeous duets to be sung on lazy summer evenings. 

“if you have time, and nothing on your mind, why, i’m free, for you and me” 

Stanley Brinks began performing officially as André Herman Düne in 1999, sharing lead vocals, guitar playing and songwriting with his brother David in the band Herman Düne for a number of years. They released several albums and toured extensively in UK, gaining and owing a lot to great support from John Peel. He has used many monikers for various side-projects, but since leaving Herman Düne in 2006, he has been known solely as Stanley Brinks. 
Born in Paris, Stan has been living between New York, San Francisco, Malta and Berlin for about a decade, always on the move. 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 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. For this year’s “Boom Biddy Boom” she also plays the washboard. 

Stanley Brinks and Freschard will be touring the UK for 2 weeks in August (joined by The Wave Pictures as their backing band), including appearances at the Green Man Festival in Wales.

Stanley Brinks & Freschard - If You Have Time

“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".

“…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

Drops

Moderation

Steven Adams - Moderation

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.

Adam Ross - Littoral Zone - Free Will

Mammoth Penguins - Here - Species

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.

Apogee

Adam Ross - Littoral Zone - Apogee

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.

Everything That I Write

Mammoth Penguins - Everything That I Write

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

Here

Flyers

Mammoth Penguins - Here - Flyers

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.

Adam Ross - Littoral Zone - Shrinking

New Starts - Under The Striplights

New Starts - What I Specifically Love

New Starts - A Little Stone

New Starts - Asbestos Roof

Release Date: 27th June 2024
FFO: Weezer | Superchunk | The Breeders | Bully | Cheekface. 
Fightmilk are returning to action with raging new single ‘Summer Bodies’, 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.
With acclaim from the likes of Kerrang!, The Quietus 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.
‘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 you 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 fuck you want, do no harm and take no shit".
‘Summer Bodies’ is out on 20th June 2024, ahead of the release of Fightmilk’s third album, which is set for release in the autumn.
Fightmilk are:
Lily (she/her): vocals, guitar
Alex (he/him): guitar, vocals
Healey (they/them): bass, vocals
Nick (he/him): drums, vocals

Fightmilk - Summer Bodies

No Souvenirs

Fightmilk - That Thing You Did

Fightmilk - Yearning And Pining

The Norwegian super-group with members from Making Marks, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Mildfire, Flight Mode and Elva return with a third album of original Christmas songs. 

Get into that alternative, Nordic Christmas spirit!

Christmas III at its heart is an alt-Christmas album: the songs are firmly rooted in December’s festivities, albeit not usually relying on the season’s traditional reference points. The songs hone in on the more ambivalent sides of Christmas - family, customs and the passing of time - with a keen eye towards the holidays’ most obvious function in countries close to the Artic circle: getting through the cold and dark times to celebrate the winter solstice and the turning of the sun. 

Drawing from Sufjan Stevens’ epic indie Christmas compendium and Phil Spector’s wall of sound classic A Christmas Gift From You, Christmas III is built on shimmering guitars, snow filled piano lines, gentle strings, springy vocals and dynamic drums - all steadily conducted by Sunturns’ own Sjur Lyseid (Flight Mode, The Little Hands of Asphalt) in the producer’s seat at his Globus studio in Oslo.

With three songwriters (Ola Innset, Einar Stray and Sjur Lyseid) contributing to Christmas III, there’s an ever shifting sense of reflections. Parenthood and the struggles of the dark Norwegian winter is behind Ola’s track First Winter. “Some times I feel bad about bringing children into such a difficult world. Not so much with respect to daylight and the seasons, they’re just going to have to learn how to live with it, but with many other things – like war, poverty, climate change and even just death.” 

If previous albums Christmas I (2011) and II (2015) are somewhat different from each other, then Christmas III represents a fusion of the two. Sunturns’ debut is full of youthful exuberance and was recorded with plentiful overdubs in Oslo, while 2015’s follow up is more pensive and somewhat darker, and was recorded live during one week in the Swedish forests. Einar elaborates: “I love making records like this: short, effective sessions with limited time and therefore no bland ‘perfection’. There’s a nerve to knowing you can collectively bring it all together without the luxury of time”. Christmas III represents a return to the lighter tone, on at least some of the songs, but with the wisdom of age that emerged on the second. You can’t just return to your twenties, however much you might want to!

Merry Christmas!

First Winter

Sunturns - First Winter

Christmas III

Back In Town

Sunturns - Back In Town

The Norwegian super-group with members from Making Marks, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Mildfire, Flight Mode and Elva return with a third album of original Christmas songs. 

Get into that alternative, Nordic Christmas spirit!

Christmas III at its heart is an alt-Christmas album: the songs are firmly rooted in December’s festivities, albeit not usually relying on the season’s traditional reference points. The songs hone in on the more ambivalent sides of Christmas - family, customs and the passing of time - with a keen eye towards the holidays’ most obvious function in countries close to the Artic circle: getting through the cold and dark times to celebrate the winter solstice and the turning of the sun. 

Drawing from Sufjan Stevens’ epic indie Christmas compendium and Phil Spector’s wall of sound classic A Christmas Gift From You, Christmas III is built on shimmering guitars, snow filled piano lines, gentle strings, springy vocals and dynamic drums - all steadily conducted by Sunturns’ own Sjur Lyseid (Flight Mode, The Little Hands of Asphalt) in the producer’s seat at his Globus studio in Oslo.

With three songwriters (Ola Innset, Einar Stray and Sjur Lyseid) contributing to Christmas III, there’s an ever shifting sense of reflections. Parenthood and the struggles of the dark Norwegian winter is behind Ola’s track First Winter. “Some times I feel bad about bringing children into such a difficult world. Not so much with respect to daylight and the seasons, they’re just going to have to learn how to live with it, but with many other things – like war, poverty, climate change and even just death.” 
Back In Town might have been inspired by a discussion over whether Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” is a Christmas song or not, but it’s written about his youngest daughter Klara, to his elder daughter, about taking holidays with your family in a town you once lived.

Einar pulls in Phoenix and Mew by the way of Jesus and Mary Chain on Crash Course Christmas, resulting in a seasick wave of a pop tune. “It’s a song about the guilt of not prioritizing your relationships. It’s been a year of rainchecks and Christmas finally gives you some time to reflect. You’ve experienced so much and changed so much as a person that you almost forget your origins. Coming home for Christmas can then be a ritiual of finding your way back to what you left behind."
Drawing on the knitwear from the film Love, Actually, Turtle Neck, taps into the Backstreet Boys by way of Mac Demarco, with a sneaky reference to the legendary Norwegian Christmas hit En Stjerne Skinner I Natt.

Album closer This Christmas / Next Christmas leans in on the hook for the Norwegian Christmas TV show Jul i Blåfjell, a multi-generational seasonal staple (essentially a daily children’s advent calendar kids show). “The song is about your parents ageing and needing your help – possibly really far away - while at the same time having your own children to take care of”.

If previous albums Christmas I (2011) and II (2015) are somewhat different from each other, then Christmas III represents a fusion of the two. Sunturns’ debut is full of youthful exuberance and was recorded with plentiful overdubs in Oslo, while 2015’s follow up is more pensive and somewhat darker, and was recorded live during one week in the Swedish forests. Einar elaborates: “I love making records like this: short, effective sessions with limited time and therefore no bland ‘perfection’. There’s a nerve to knowing you can collectively bring it all together without the luxury of time”. Christmas III represents a return to the lighter tone, on at least some of the songs, but with the wisdom of age that emerged on the second. You can’t just return to your twenties, however much you might want to!


Sunturns - Crash Course Christmas

“typically rich in a variety of sounds and structures; the songs are looser, more playful and all the more endearing because of it” Loud and Quiet

‘Wakefield’, the first single taken from the new album ‘My Ass’, has a jazzy flowing bass driving a day in the life of Brinks on tour: a sense of togetherness, a touch of sax and the knowledge that love will act as a shield against all evil.

Stanley Brinks is joined by The Wave Pictures for their new record ‘My Ass’, the follow up to last year’s ‘Gin’, and their fourth album together.

After ‘Gin’ Brinks wasted no time in taking The Wave Pictures straight back to the studio, bright and early, the morning after the final show of their tour, to ensure they lost none of the fire still burning in their hearts from the final night’s drinks. Three playful days and twelve loose, jazzy, tracks later, with Brinks making salubrious use of his new penny-whistle and the assembled studio choir of friends hanging out, embraced into the recordings, he had his camel, ‘My Ass’.

Stanley 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.

The Wave Pictures are David Tattersall, Franic Rozycki and Jonny ‘Huddersfield’ Helm. Formed in 1998 when Franic and David lived in a village called Wymeswold, the band played with several drummers until Jonny became a permanent member in 2003 replacing Hugh J Noble. In the beginning the band learned to play together by covering Jonathan Richman songs but soon David was writing lots of original material. 
They have since released six studio albums to critical acclaim and played numerous sessions on BBC 6 Music, Radio 1 and Xfm. Interest generated from these recordings has enabled The Wave Pictures to play shows all over the world with artists including Jeffrey Lewis, Darren Hayman, Stanley Brinks, Freschard and Herman Düne.

“a joyous and celebratory record which crackles and sparkles with a joie de vivre which is sadly lacking from all too many of Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures’ contemporaries” - Folk Radio

“a set that’s as wistful and charming as it is playful and self-concious” Uncut

Wakefield

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Wakefield

My Ass

Goodbye My Love

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Goodbye My Love

Think About You

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Think About You

Fire To My Mind

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Fire To My Mind

Brighton

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures -  Brighton

My Camel

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - My Camel

Taken from Sally Shapiro's final ever single, this remix of the A-side "If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind" comes from UK nu-disco producer Ben Macklin.
The single is released on May 12th on Fika Recordings, and is available on white 7" vinyl and as a digital download. The b-side features an acoustic cover of David Guetta's "Dangerous", and the download comes with Ben's remix and a remix from French synthwave artist Tommy '86.

Fika Recordings

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