Product Description
File under: Indie, Pop, UK. Cult Scottish miserabilists The Just Joans have a new double A-side single, following up on the success of 2017’s album You Might Be Smiling Now…, their first in over a decade. Formed in Glasgow in 2005, The Just Joans have evolved from a shambling two-piece to an accomplished sextet that embraces rivalry and relationship in the vocals of siblings, David and Katie Pope. Once described as ‘the missing link between The Magnetic Fields and The Proclaimers’, the band have used selfawareness and self-deprecation to continuously explore themes of angst, heartbreak and detachment in their songs. From their 2006 debut album Last Tango in Motherwell through a series of successful EPs, to 2012’s compilation Buckfast Bottles In The Rain, the acerbic wit in David Pope’s observational lyrics have helped make the band a firm favourite of the indie-pop scene. Their rise has seen them play a plethora of international festivals, such as Wales Goes Pop, Indiefjords, NYC Popfest, and of course the Indietracks festival, of which they have been long-standing cult favourites since their first appearance in 2008.
David Pope describes the two tracks from the 7” in characteristic Just Joans style: “Has Anybody Seen My Boy? is our attempt at writing a lost 60’s girl group track…had that girl group been from Motherwell. 3 minutes of bubblegum-tragi-pop. Flip side Who Does Susan Think She Is? is a direct message to the friends who swanned off to art school and came back 3 months later with dyed hair, a Polaroid camera and a snooty attitude. You know who you are…” The artwork was created specially for the single by Doreen Kay who attends the weekly art cIass Katie Pope runs for adults who have learning disabilities. Doreen’s work often depicts popular cultural, including tv programmes and celebrities she likes. She also paints places she’s enjoyed visiting and people she knows. We’re all very excited that she agreed to design the sleeve for this release.
The Just Joans are David Pope (vocals and guitar), Katie Pope (vocals), Chris Elkin (lead guitar), Fraser Ford (bass guitar), Doog Cameron (keyboards) and Jason Sweeney (drums).
“a wise-up call for middle-aged dreamers with just one caveat: the Joans’ own cynicism has improved with age. But don’t tell them, or they might go cheering up.” Record Collector
“The Just Joans have documented the romantic pratfalls of a generation of indie kids with a sardonic wit and a shambling musical style where Stephin Merritt lies down with The Vaselines.” Uncut.
Tracklist:
A1) Has Anybody Seen My Boy?
B1) Who Does Susan Think She Is?
Fika Recordings FIKA069