Pete Fij Releases UP'S THE NEW DOWN Album, Shares "Complicated" Single

Pete Fij has released his new LP Up's The New Down via Tip Top Records, which arrives alongside his single 'Complicated.' Built around post-punk guitars and a feeling of pent-up desire, the track brings a raw energy while keeping Fij's knack for melody at its core. The song builds a sense of tension throughout, with the guitars adding to its passion and drive as Fij explores a more stripped-back and energetic side of his sound.

Speaking on the track, Fij says, 'I wanted to get that feral energy of pent up passion, and post-punk guitars seemed to be the best medium to express that.' The result is a track that embraces that feeling head-on, using its post-punk edge to give the song's simmering energy and restless momentum. 'Complicated' sees Fij pushing into a sharper, more visceral side of his sound while retaining the melodic sensibility and understated charm that runs throughout his work.

With Up's The New Down, Fij continues to embrace his fuzzed-up dream-pop past while pushing further into pop, electronica, and the sharper edges of post-punk. The album sees him balancing melody and texture with his characteristic wit, resulting in a collection that feels both familiar and newly energized.

Up's The New Down and its singles 'Don't Bring Me Sunshine,' 'Cuckoo,' 'Love's Coming Back,' and 'Wake Up Honey' have received praise and support from Brooklyn Vegan, FLOOD, DORK, New Noise, SPILL, Magnet, and many more. Across the album, Fij draws on his unmistakable voice and wry lyrical touch while embracing a more energized approach to his sound, bringing together the fuzzed-up dream-pop sensibilities of his past with elements of pop, electronica, and post-punk. The result is a record that feels melodic, playful, and full of understated charm, while marking a fresh chapter in Fij's solo work.

Up's The New Down by Pete Fij is out now.

Up's The New Down - Track Listing

1. Love's Coming Back

2. Hey Sunshine

3. Complicated

4. Kitchen Disco

5. Cuckoo

6. Don't Bring Me Sunshine

7. Actor

8. Wake Up Honey

9. Buzz Buzz

10. Fragments

Pete Fij - Live Dates

9/19 - Coventry, UK - Covtember Fest

10/8 - Norwich, UK - The Holloway

10/9 - Lincoln, UK - Akedo

10/10 - Northampton, UK - The Lab

10/11 - Darlington, UK - Angel's Cut

10/12 - Edinburgh, UK - Sneaky Pete's

10/13 - Glasgow, UK - Assai Records

10/14 - Leeds, UK - Crash Records

10/15 - Liverpool, UK - The Jacaranda

10/16 - London, UK - West Hampstead Arts Club

10/18 - Kingston, UK - Banquet Records

10/19 - Derby, UK - The Vic Inn

10/20 - Salford, UK - The Eagle Inn

10/21 - London, UK - Rough Trade

10/22 - Brighton, UK - Green Door Store

About Pete Fij

Renowned for his unmistakable voice and wry lyrical touch, Pete Fij(alkowski) makes a welcome return with fresh solo material - unveiling songs that brim with melody, wit and understated charm.

Pete first burst onto the scene in the early 90s as the frontman and guitarist of post-shoegaze / pre-Britpop band Adorable, whose 1993 album Against Perfection, released on Creation Records, is regularly referred to as a lost indie classic, with the band picking up multiple 'Single of the Week' awards in the NME, and topping the Indie charts. Noel Gallagher once told Creation Records' Alan McGhee that dropping Adorable from the label was one of his biggest mistakes, whilst other artists such as Ash, Slowdive and Brian Jonestown Massacre amongst others have all expressed their admiration for the band.

Following this he joined up with his brother Krzys to form One Little Indian band Polak (Swansongs 2000 / Rubbernecking 2002) which took in influences from the likes of Sparklehorse, Radiohead and dEUS, and led The Independent to call him 'the most gifted lyricist since Jarvis Cocker last put pen to paper'.

There then followed a musical exile, after having what Pete now describes as 'a musical breakdown' before re-emerging alongside celebrated House of Love guitarist Terry Bickers to release two critically acclaimed albums as Pete Fij / Terry Bickers on 2014's Broken Heart Surgery, and 2017's We Are Millionaires, winning the Roundtable 'Single of The Week' on Steve Lamacq's BBC 6Music show.

Adorable then reformed for a few weeks in 2019 for a series of one off dates that sold out in record time, playing bigger venues than they did in their heyday – and then broke up again.

After another musical hiatus, Fij returned. 'After years of singing downbeat songs of melancholy and loss, after waving goodbye to a long-term relationship, after working at a care home during the Covid pandemic, after seeing people off from the platform of life as a Funeral Celebrant, I decided to have a reset.'

Slinging back on the electric guitar, ditching the job, upping the BPMs, and falling in love again has resulted in Pete embracing his fuzzed up dream-pop past but also throwing in elements of pop and electronica.

Now signed to Tip Top Recordings, the Working Title of his forthcoming LP was 'Up's The New Down'.

Pete's lush and rich baritone voice has been compared to Lee Hazlewood, Lou Reed and Richard Hawley in the past – and fans will be pleased to hear that, if anything, it's sounding stronger, more urgent and characterful than ever.

Photo Credit: Lorna Allan