The Private Memoirs and Confessions of the Just Joans

For those of you who don’t know (or own an Arctic Monkeys record) Motherwell’s Just Joan’s are indiepop royalty. Named after the Daily Record agony Aunt, they write tender, razor sharp songs about actual real life, often incorrectly called Miserablist when they are in fact Realist. They are lead by brother and sister Katie and David Pope (kind of a White Lightening Stripes) and their shows are funny and true and as a punter you feel part of the Just Joans family. People look to their music to get a feel of what’s going on in Scotland the same way people looked to Public Enemy to see what was happening in Detroit. It’s thanks to them a whole generation proudly drinks Buckfast from a bottle and knows what an ‘empty’ is. Their songs are delivered with tongues placed so steadfastly in cheek and with great fists full of salt, its easy to forget what talented songwriters they actually are. Indeed, in If You Don’t Pull and What Do We Do Now? they have two bona fide, 24ct anthems. Underestimate them at your peril.

It was somewhat jarring to realise that last time the postman delivered a Just Joans LP, it was realised on Wee Pop! records. To me. Wee Pop was a talisman, an icon, of the high tide mark, the very peak of indiepop when it seemed there was a new record, band or label to get excited about every week, life revolved around getting drunk with your pop heroes in tiny rooms above pubs and the summers were as endless as the possibilities. Nostalgia? Most certainly, but its hard not to hark back to a time before brexit and Morrissey turning out to be an absolute prick. As MJ Hibbett but it so succinctly recently, we really are ten years older and the band we loved really are dead. Do we actually need the Just Joans?

Well on evidence of this LP, the answer is a resounding yes. ‘Confessions’ is the record they have been aching to make. I despise the word ‘mature’ (it makes me think of moldy cellars) but it really does fit like a glove. Everything has gone up around ten notches since the last record. The singing is confident rather than bashful, the songwriting bristles with verve and ability. Take the chorus of Wee Guys (Bobby’s got a punctured lung) which absolutely soars and is so strong I had to check they hadn’t nicked it. See also the beauty of the strings on Dear Diary, I Died Again Today which shine the song up like a diamond. The lyrics are incredible too. When Nietzche Calls is an arty goth 101 but no less beautiful for it. The heart wrenching The Older I Get, The More I Don’t Know is the song M*rriss*y wishes he wrote. The swooning The One I Loathe The Least is gorgeous as it is wise (The record stores have closed their doors/the cinema shut down/and every bus is calling us/to pack up and leave town).

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of Just Joans will hopefully make the band realise just how talented they are. Just Joans have produced a proper grown up record that bares repeated listening and should find it’s place amongst the annals of Caledonian pop music. If Stuart Murdoch isn't jealous of this record, he really should be.

"When she said "Let's just go and look for twigs as pegs" I knew it was the beginning of the end." An interview with JUST JOANS

The pride of Motherwell Just Joans are playing an acoustic set in the Indietracks merch tent on Saturday. Brilldream caught up with Katie and David to talk Indietracks, Weepop!, The Smiths and T'pau.

Your Indietracks appearance seems to be something of a secret. Are you scared of breaking the sacred 'not two years in a row' rule?

David- yeah, we've managed to slip unnoticed through the tight indietracks security net. if you see me n katie with our hands bound and sacks over our heads being huckled off towards a waiting helicopter you know why!

Katie- It's not so much that it's a secret, I think the fact that nobody knows it's happening, is more to with the fact that we are an incredibly disorganised bunch of Scots. We never really bought into that sacred 'not two years in a row" rule anyway, as our handsome bassist Fraser Ford or 'Fra-jazzle' as he's affectionately known around the Glasgow chippies, has appeared in various guises with various bands for the past five years running. We fully expect him to have his own burrito stand this year.

 Are you surprised by how people have taken your music and lyrics so warmly to their hearts?

David- Yeah, it's been really lovely to get such warm feedback from people. i guess we can't take too much of the credit tho...since all our best tunes and lyrics have been shamelessly purloined from other bands. it hasn't all been positive feedback either. My favourite response was a comment on youtube under a video of our song "Bellshill station". the guy wrote "Bellshill station reeks of piss...just like this song". ha ha!

Katie- Indietracks is such a special festival for us in that regard. We always receive an amazing response here. Watching hundreds of bedraggled, smiling festival-goers in raincoats singing along with us to "What Do We Do Now?" last year was genuinely special. I think it's something to do with our stage in life, a lot of of us are relics of the Britpop era, and that particular song about life moving on, seems particularly resonant for people. Thanks Sleeper.

What's the best thing about festivals as a punter and an artist?

Katie- We have met so many friends through Indietracks, other bands like Allo Darlin', The Smittens, Standard Fare, The Bobby McGees and loads more, not to mention all those other darn sexy indie kids who attend every year without fail. I also like the burritos, the very strong ale, the array of pretty dresses on display, the late-night bar on the campsite, the year Darren Hayman brought his wee dog along, was a vintage Indietracks.

David- Hmmm, good question. i think i'd have to say...the sweet sweet poonani. that is obviously a joke but i did meet my girlfriend ,Faye, at Indietracks 4 years ago as well as a whole bunch of other lovely folks over the years. the best thing about indietracks is undoubtedly the "people", with the exception of MJ Hibbett. that man is the devil incarnate!

 At the 1995 Phoenix festival, I saw a portaloo topple over with a girl trapped inside it. What's your worst festival memory?

Katie- My Mum, for some bizarre reason, let me go to T in the Park when I was sixteen with only my friend Lisa for protection. I remember we got the bus from Buchanan Street, the aisles were swimming in man-pee by 10am on the Friday morning. Lisa was in charge of the tent, she forgot the waterproof outer-layer, the ground sheet and the pegs. When she said "Let's just go and look for twigs as pegs" I knew it was the beginning of the end.

David- Worst festival memory eh? Maybe t in the park in 1997. The britpop bubble had burst and the dark cloud of HEROIN hung heavy over Kinross. I've never seen carnage like that Echobelly encore before and i hope i never do again.

Be honest, how long do you spend worrying about what you're going to wear?

David- i usually spend upwards of 3 hours...and that's only selecting which Pastels badge i'll wear.

Katie- I'm partial to a new dress for a festival. It's tricky matching the wellington boot footwear though. Last year I sneakily got Elizabeth from Allo darlin' to wear one of my homemade Just Joans t-shirts, during her set on the main stage, by giving her a freebie in the merch tent, then guilting her into it. Smooooth.

 Are you aware there is going to be a sing along (featuring lots of Just Joans songs) in the train at 2pm Saturday? Are you tempted to pop along?

David- yes, i've read about the sing-a-long on anorak forum. of course i'll be there! who do you think posted all those requests for our songs? i shall be the one at the front heckling and booing loudly whenever they try and sing a song that wasn't written by me." BOOO...more ME"!

Katie- Absolutely! I love a sing-along on a train, as I'm sure anyone who has ever caught the 23:41 train out of Glasgow Central, on a Saturday night can testify! Can we do China in Your Hand" by T'Pau?

I think the first time I 'got' Just Joans was when I saw the quote from the book All Men Have Secrets (which I got for my 18th birthday of an ex girlfriend). Do you think you would have looked at music the same way if you had not read it?

David- love that book! we try and add a wee story from it in the artwork to all our releases. i think that the wee testimonies definitely capture something of how much a band like "the smiths" meant to some people at a certain point in their lives. i was probably one of those people and discovering "hatful of hollow" probably changed the themes i felt music could address.

Katie- I don't think the band would exist without The Smiths full stop. I first got into them when I was 15, just before David left for University (David is my big brother. Yes actually my big brother, we're not The White Stripes) and I was so upset because he was taking all his records with him. He said I could choose one and I took Louder that Bombs. He looked and me with an expression that said "I have taught you well, child." The Smiths have been a massive influence on both David and I, and on my paintings too. Making art about what and who's around you is key to us."The rain falls hard on a humdrum town, this town has dragged you down".

Is it fun working with Camila at WeePop! ?

David- working with Camila has been a wonderful experience and Weepop has been the perfect label for us. the amount of care and time that Camila puts into every release is amazing and it's clearly a real labour of love. we love you Camila!

Katie- Camila is an absolute angel. I wish Prince William had chosen her to marry and impregnate. She is the people's princess.

                                                       On the Edge by Katie Pope

A know a lot of people (myself included) who are huge admirers of you art. Do you plan to exhibit it in the future?

David- over to you katie...unless he's referring to the cover art for "hey boy..." ep.

Katie- Aw, thanks. I have always painted and I have a studio that I work from full-time in Glasgow City Centre. There has always been a link between our music and the paintings. In my Art School degree show, my show was about my hometown, being a teenager, growing up and leaving home. I played "Back to High school" on a loop along with my paintings for the whole month they were on display. I think the other art students were going a bit mental by the end! Yeah I'm currently working on a large solo show, so my new work will be displayed soon. I also have an updated website coming very soon atwww.katiepope.co.uk. Go look.

When can we expect the next Just Joans LP? Will it be about the post uni years?

David- We're actually releasing a new ep/mini-album on weepop next month. it's called "6.9 love songs" and deals with every single aspect of love, from "unrequited love" to "lost love" and all the way back to "unrequited love" again. even if you hate the songs, Camila's packaging is bound to be exquisite.

Just Joans

There comes a time in every break up of a relationship were you start to listen to really, really sad songs because they make you feel sadder, which somehow makes you feel better. Its like picking at a scab, the pain is easier to take when you control it. So you spend night after night alone in your room playing the same sad songs again and again. Then, eventually, there comes a time when you realise you've made a bit of a fool of yourself weeping into barmaids blouses and thinking every corny, shite love song on the radio was written about you. At this point, you want to listen to something thats as poigniant as it is angsty, something that will give you hug then bark at you to pull yourself together. The Just Joans could have been created for this stage of introspection.

The motherwell 6 peice are masters of writing songs that both lie in awe of the fucked up-ness of relationships and at the same time take the piss out of it. Take, for example 'I wont survive', an ode to the joy and liberation of finding new love, with a chorus that warns of immediate self destruction should the said relationship sour.
'If you dont pull' is like a baby cousin of The Smiths's 'How soon is now?', a tale of a lonely man in a terrible nightclub who realises that as hidious as the place may be, it might be the only place he will find love.
'Hey boy..youre oh so sensitive!' is a perfect little piss take of the fey indie boy that lurks in all of us, the part of us thats convinced liking Woody Allen and carrying a book of poetry around with us will make us irresistible to the opposite sex.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking of them all is 'What do we do now?' a song about about growing older, losing friends and being alienated from your hometown. Full of achingly misplaced nostalgia, its like someone closing the indie club of your youth and holding a microphone up to it.

"what do we do now/now were are ten years older?/the bands we loved are dead/i'll always think of you/whenever i smell cider/but it wont be the same/again."

heartbreakingly real.

http://www.myspace.com/thejustjoans

what do we do now?




oh boy...youre so sensitive