The Just Joans

The Just Joans

The Just Joans are an indie pop group from Glasgow, North Lanarkshire. They form in 2005 around songwriter David Pope, and their work centres on lo-fi songs about love, rejection and everyday angst. The band takes its name from Daily Record agony aunt Joan Burnie’s “Just Joan” column.

Early releases and lineup

The band’s debut album, Last Tango In Motherwell, appears first in 2006 as a cassette release for a small circle of friends. Chris Gilmour hears it and sets up Ivan Lendil Music to issue a CD version more widely. As Pope moves from singing at home to performing live, he adds guitarist Chris Elkin, then his younger sister Katie Pope on vocals and bassist Fraser Ford. These four remain part of the band’s core.

DIY years and later changes

In 2007, The Just Joans join WeePOP! Records and spend eight years releasing handmade EPs, including Hey Boy...You’re Oh So Sensitive and Love and Other Hideous Accidents. The band also revisits its first album, rerecording, reordering and retitling it as Buckfast Bottles In The Rain. Over time, members come and go, including Doog Cameron, while Jason Sweeney on drums and multi-instrumentalist Arion Xenos later strengthen the group’s studio and live work.

Style and later recordings

The Just Joans build a reputation on the indiepop scene with mischievous lyrics and tender melodies, and often draw on Scottish culture in their songs and presentation. They are described as sitting between The Magnetic Fields and The Proclaimers. After moving to Fika Recordings, they release a number of singles and, in 2017, You Might Be Smiling Now..., their first new LP in a decade. In 2020, they release The Private Memoirs and Confessions of The Just Joans.