Sporting one of the most memorable and charismatic voices in the music
scene, Pete Fij(alkowski) returns with new solo material and a raft of
brand new indie pop classics.
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 the legendary 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, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Air
Formation and Brian Jonestown Massacre 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 - "Beautiful"
(MOJO) "Unfailingly lovely" (UNCUT) "Stunning" (OHM) "Beautifully constructed"
(Q).
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, he’s back:
“Having spent a few years working in a care home during Covid alongside
working as a funeral celebrant, and after years of singing downbeat songs of
heartbreak and loss, I thought I'd go more upbeat and kick some indie ass.”
The working title of his forthcoming LP is appropriately enough 'Up's The New Down'
(to be released in 2026) and sees him embracing his fuzzed up dream-pop guitar
past, as well as incorporating elements of electronica and pop.
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.
Having built up a reputation as an intelligent and talented songwriter, as well as a
dynamic live performer, these new songs add an exciting new chapter to Pete's zig
zag career in music.