Scottish indie-pop band wojtek the bear, fronted by Tam Killean, formed in 2016 and released their debut album, a talent for being unreasonable, via Scottish Fiction, in 2018, followed by heaven by the backdoor in 2021 via Last Night From Glasgow. They have since played across the UK and Europe. Their third album, shaking hands with the NME, was released in April 2024 and, on 22 May 2026, they returned with a stunning new album, i don’t think you want to hear this, again via Last Night From Glasgow. Staying true to their tradition of outdoing themselves, this release sparkles with understated elegance and the band’s trademark wit. Recorded at Beetroot Studios in Airdrie, the band worked closely with acclaimed producer Bill Ryder-Jones (Swim Deep, Yard Act, The Wytches) and engineer Stuart MacLeod (Sister John, The Bluebells, Brontës) to bring the collection to life.

What Tam says: “iThe song is a playful nod to Gerry Love penned, BMX Bandits’ ‘Kylie’s got a crush on us’ hit. It just so happened that Bill had been working recently with Gerry on a record, so we invited him over to the studio while we were recording for him to hear the song and thankfully he gave us his blessing, and even recorded some handclaps on the album. In terms of the lyrical content of the song, it’s a fictional tale about an extremely over-zealous fan of Kylie who writes to and pesters her so much to the point that she can’t get rid of them, so she decides to take matters into her own hands and puts a voodoo curse on the person to try and get rid of them!“

“Much like most of our songs, it’s got quite a grim subject matter wrapped up a in shiny, bouncy three minute pop song. The lyrics are about finding yourself in a situation you’d really rather not be in, but feeling stuck and trying to make the best of it anyway. When we were writing this we were very much trying to channel the idea of Nick Drake jamming with Vince Guaraldi and I think we got pretty close! It features Bill Ryder-Jones on piano and we had a lot of fun in the studio with Bill, which I think has transferred on to the record.“

His mixtape: “I based my selections around songs we were listening to whilst writing and recording our latest album“

Nick Drake – Northern Sky

Nick has been a massive influence on us as a band, and on my songwriting in particular. His use of unusual guitar tunings really unlocked a part of my brain when I was younger and allowed me to see that there was a whole world outside of the standard guitar tuning. This is also just a really beautiful song!

Wilco – I am trying to break your heart

I absolutely love this song and the production on this record is just amazing. We tried, and probably failed(!), to replicate some of that production style on our new record, which led to some pretty bizarre moments in the studio with people running around with microphones recording people doing forward rolls, smashing up gin bottles and throwing things off walls.

 

Lambchop – Up with People

On the face of it this is a really simple song but again it’s the layering of instrumentation and the production that really elevates it. The way it builds towards the end into this big joyous racket is amazing.

Waxahatchee – Right Back to It

I absolutely wore this record out when it came out last year and it definitely had an influence on the sound of the new record. Katie has such an amazing ear for melody and I just unashamedly love this song.

Michael Price – In Spite of the Weather (Bill Ryder-Jones reimagining)

This song was a huge influence on the last track on our new record, glass jaws. Aside from just being a really beautiful piece of music, I think it really showcases how amazing Bill’s production skills are.

Four Tet – Three Drums

I’ve included this as I was listening to this album all the time around the time we were recording. I think from the sounds of it absolutely none of it has bled into our record but it’d be a dream to work with Kieran one day!

i don’t think you want to hear this is out now via Last Night From Glasgow. Look HERE for more information on wojtek the bear.

Michael Price – In Spite of the Weather (Bill Ryder-Jones reimagining) – https://youtu.be/4iA1MxIuIpA?si=QJRhW619cEMU5heW
This song was a huge influence on the last track on our new record, “glass jaws”. Aside from just being a really beautiful piece of music, I think it really showcases how amazing Bill’s production skills are.

Four Tet – Three Drums – https://youtu.be/DGaKVLFNWzs?si=VN0V7xLM5VnKM2_Z
I’ve included this as I was listening to this album all the time around the time we were recording. I think from the sounds of it absolutely none of it has bled into our record but it’d be a dream to work with Kieran one day!