THE BAND
The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Naming the band after Daily Record agony aunt Joan Burnie’s ‘Just Joan’ column, work immediately began on a number of lo-fi tracks dealing with love, rejection and everyday angst. These would eventually emerge as The Just Joans’ debut album, Last Tango In Motherwell. Released in 2006 on tape cassette to a small number of friends, one – Chris Gilmour – was so taken with the collection that he set up his own label, Ivan Lendil Music, specifically to circulate a CD version to a wider audience.
As he advanced from singing sad songs in his bedroom to singing sad songs live, David recruited Chris Elkin as a guitarist. Shortly after, he would add younger sister Katie Pope as a vocalist, alongside bassist Fraser Ford – with all four remaining in the band to this day. Their presence helped to build a reputation on the indiepop scene, and, in 2007, The Just Joans joined WeePOP! Records. During their eight years with the DIY label, they released a series of handmade EPs including Hey Boy...You’re Oh So Sensitive and Love and Other Hideous Accidents. The band also revisited their first LP, rerecording it, reordering it, and retitling it as Buckfast Bottles In The Rain.
Some much-loved band members have come and gone in the time since, not least Doog Cameron, who personified the manner in which The Just Joans tread a fine line between the heartfelt and the dangerous. However, it is the more recent additions, Jason Sweeney on drums and multi-instrumentalist Arion Xenos, that have helped elevate the band to a new level - both in terms of the studio and the stage. Completing the journey from shambling two-piece to accomplished sextet, the band continue to win fans with their mischievous lyrics and tender melodies. Embracing Scottish culture at every turn, the band were perhaps best described by Is This Music as ‘the missing link between The Magnetic Fields and The Proclaimers.’
Since moving to Fika Recordings, The Just Joans have released a variety of singles and, in 2017, You Might Be Smiling Now..., their first new LP in a decade. Much acclaimed in the music press, Highway Queens thought it to be ‘the perfect Glasgow kiss’ while Uncut identified the record as the point at which ‘Stephin Merritt lies down with The Vaselines.’
The band’s new album, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of The Just Joans, was released in January 2020.
