In 2001 the shambling Finnish twee outfit Cats on Fire assembled in Vasa, its nostalgic sound shaped by the Smiths, the Wedding Present, and the Orchids and anchored by lead singer Mattias Bjorkas’ distinctive warbly, Morrissey-esque delivery. Multiple personnel changes marked the band’s early phase until the lineup locked in during 2004 with Bjorkas, guitarist Ville Hopponen, bassist Kenneth Höglund, and drummer Henry Ojala. Their debut appeared in 2003 as the four-track vinyl-only release Solid Work on Elva Records, followed the next year by the EP Happiness Is Chemistry. Two years later Sweden’s Fraction Discs issued the EP Drawing in the Reins. On the strength of that recording, Germany’s Marsh-Marigold signed the group, issuing the debut full-length The Province Complains on the label in early 2007. Rising profile then drew the notice of American indie Matinée Recordings, which released Our Temperance Movement in 2009 and Dealing in Antiques the year after. The association allowed the band to tour the United States, and in 2012 they delivered their fourth LP, All Blackshirts to Me.
