For all of your Xtra Mile Recordings artists' autumn and winter 2014 tour news - for Europe, UK and the US - have a look here! Includes Against Me!, Ben Marwood, Billy the Kid, Cheap Girls, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Crazy Arm, Drag the River, Esme Patterson, Franz Nicolay, Larry and His Flask, Mineral, Northcote, and To Kill A King.
Read MoreXTRA MILE HIGH CLUB VOL. 5: SMOKIN' (SIGNED VS UNSIGNED) OUT 11 AUGUST 2014
Xtra Mile Recordings will release Xtra Mile High Club Vol. 5: Smokin’ (Signed vs Unsigned) - the fifth installment of the critically acclaimed label compilation series - on 11 August 2014.
Split into two halves, this digital only compilation features almost every act on Xtra Mile Recordings’ roster on ‘Side A’ and an unsigned act of their choosing on ‘Side B’.
Showcasing the diversity of Xtra Mile’s musical leanings, Side A features the caustic title track from Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!; the cannonball barrage of Möngöl Hörde’s ‘Blistering Blue Barnacles’; the unmistakable roots groove of Sonic Boom Six’s ‘A Little Bit of Reggae’, and the unplugged wordplay of Ben Marwood’s ‘They Will Float Your Body Out To Sea’. You’ll get pop highs off of Rob Lynch, gruff bluntness from Beans On Toast, and synth-laden pop from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. You’ll hear from our newer signees like Billy the Kid and one of our oldest friends, Jamie Lenman. The whole spectrum.
Our acts are always discovering new music and ‘Side B’ - in keeping with Xtra Mile’s constant search and support for new and unsigned acts - comprises their recommendations of emerging artists. Included are the sublime Spring Offensive, The Lion & the Wolf, The Karma Party, Toucans, Grace Petrie & the Benefits Culture, Little Rob and The Mob and many, many more.
Joining the unsigned half of the compilation are International Departures who won the final spot with their track ‘Give Me Something’, voted for by our dedicated Xtra Mile Street Team from hundreds of entries sent to us last month. Like bumping into a dear friend unexpectedly, it turns out Henry Carden – formerly of Dartz! alongside William Anderson of current XMR band, Algiers – is the man behind International Departures.
The artwork is a snapshot taken of an active volcano and is in keeping with all previous plane/sky/space themed XMHC volume front covers. This naturally gave rise to the so-obvious-it’s-not-even-funny compilation title: Smokin’.
Look out for an XMR Hub feature which will include our bands’ reasons for choosing their unsigned counterparts and other fun Smokin’ related things.
The Xtra Mile High Club series, proudly shows off the breadth of talent on its eclectic roster. Welcome to the club…
Full tracklisting is below:
Side A – Xtra Mile
1. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
2. Cheap Girls - Man In Question
3. Northcote - Counting Down The Days
4. Ben Marwood - They Will Float Your Body Out To Sea (Alternate Version)
5. Rob Lynch - My Friends and I
6. Billy the Kid - Yet
7. To Kill A King - Cold Skin
8. Algiers - Little Friction
9. Retrospective Soundtrack Players - Smart Girls For Talking, Morons For Dancing (Live)
10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - As Always
11. Mull Historical Society - Why Do They Go So Soon (Home Demo)
12. Beans On Toast - Sold Out Shows
13. Crazy Arm - Black Canyon
14. Jon Snodgrass - "Song For The Groom's Friend, the friend who is the actual guy conducting the ceremony” (Exclusive Version)
15. Chris T-T & The Hoodrats - A Beaten Drum (piano version, live at St Paul's Lifestyle)
16. Franz Nicolay & The Cut Ups - To Us, The Beautiful
17. Drag The River - Marooned
18. Sonic Boom Six - A Little Bit Of Reggae
19. Jamie Lenman - Shower of Scorn
20. Oxygen Thief - con.script.shun
21. Möngöl Hörde - Blistering Blue Barnacles
Side B - Unsigned
1. The Frankl Project - A Day At The Races
2. Failures’ Union - Hard To Sea
3. Kayleigh Goldsworthy - Tennessee
4. Quiet Quiet Band - Hunter's Moon
5. The Lion & the Wolf - Ghosts On Trinity
6. PJ Bond - I'm In A Bad Way
7. Spring Offensive - Speak
8. Toucans – Welcome To Lovers House
9. CG Whitear - Tokyo Drizzle
10. International Departures - Give Me Something (XMR competition winners)
11. Sorren Maclean - Either Way (feat. Roddy Woomble)
12. Little Rob and The Mob - Oaths
13. Brunel - Score Sheet
14. Gasoline Heart - Love Let Her Go
15. Grace Petrie & The Benefits Culture - The Redundancy Hymn
16. Emilyn Brodsky - Someone Belongs Here
17. Jonathan Coody - I Just Gotta Know
18. The Karma Party - World War
19. CeCe - These Four Walls
20. Strange Planes - Sharpen Your Teeth
21. Samoans - The Moth
GET YOUR SONG ON THE NEXT 'XTRA MILE HIGH CLUB' COMPILATION!
Xtra Mile Recordings is set to release the fifth Xtra Mile High Club compilation this summer, and are looking for your unsigned band to provide the final track to the collection.
Xtra Mile High Club Vol 5: Smokin' includes songs from almost every artist on the Xtra Mile roster and one unsigned track chosen by each band, adding up to 40+ songs for your listening pleasure. Further details about this digital release will be announced soon, but if you're an unsigned band and interested in being on this wonderful comp - which includes Frank Turner, Against Me!, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Chris T-T, To Kill A King, Beans On Toast, Rob Lynch and many more - do read on.
Yes! Xtra Mile is giving you the chance to get your best song on Xtra Mile High Club Vol 5: Smokin' by sending it to our team of experts who will choose their favourite entry for inclusion on the compilation.
How do you do that? Simply make sure you have a Soundcloud account, upload the track you think will win us over, and send the Soundcloud link to: competitions[at]xtramilerecordings[dot]com
You must get the track into us by Friday 23 May to be considered for inclusion and we will not accept emails with mp3s attached (these will be deleted as they clog up the inbox, sorry). It must be a Soundcloud link, please. All the best and we look forward to listening!
CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH - NEW VIDEO FOR 'AS ALWAYS' // 'ONLY RUN' OUT 2 JUNE
Pitchfork has premiered Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's video for 'As Always' from their fourth album, Only Run which is released on 2 June worldwide through Xtra Mile Recordings and self-released by the band on 3 June in North America. Watch the video and read up on tour dates here.
Following the success of Alec’s sold out UK/EU 'Living Room Tour' in May, which saw Alec perform solo at intimate and informal gigs in fans’ living rooms, plans are afoot to return to UK and Europe in October with the full band for a headline tour. More details to be announced.
Like the band's fateful first album, Only Run is an artist's singular vision. Once again, Alec Ounsworth crafted the songs himself before bringing them to the studio for completion and the album is further proof that CYHSY thrives because of a strong sense of identity.
Fans can pre-order Only Run on iTunes now and receive the instant gratification track, 'Coming Down' or through Xtra Mile's shop for vinyl, CD or download.
CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH 'ONLY RUN' OUT 2 JUNE // FIRST TRACK 'COMING DOWN' FEATURING MATT BERNINGER OF THE NATIONAL
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have announced the release of their new record, Only Run, on 2 June. Earlier today, Pitchfork revealed the premier of first track, 'Coming Down'. You can also listen to the track on Soundcloud.
Only Run, like the band’s first three records, will be marketed and distributed directly and independently by them in North America and Japan, whilst the band have teamed up with Xtra Mile Recordings for the release worldwide.
You can preorder the album here: http://smarturl.it/Only-Run
Only Run artwork
While this ethos initially struck a chord with fans when the band started, it was always truly an extension of lead singer/songwriter Alec Ounsworth’s core belief: “The general rule is to be appreciative of your audience,” he recently told Fast Company magazine.” So now, 10 years after the starting the band, while much has changed for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, many things aren’t so different. For instance, Ounsworth has spent all of 2014 thus far crisscrossing the United States playing living room shows. He still needs that direct connection with fans; it validates his vision of how art should work and confirms his belief in the music. He will be bring the Living Room Shows over to London and other major cities throughout the UK and Europe in May. Full details to be announced.
Photo by Matt Barrick
Before taking to the road, Ounsworth poured himself into the making of 'Only Run'. Like the band’s fateful first album, it’s an artist’s singular vision. Once again, Ounsworth crafted the songs himself before bringing them to the studio for completion and the album is further proof that CYHSY thrives because of a strong sense of identity. Fostered from his love of uncompromising songwriters (e.g. John Cale, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Tom Waits), Ounsworth believes in an artist’s creative control. Only Run aims to loosely document Ounsworth’s observations of his life in music over the last 10 years. “Lately, I’ve been assaulted by news, both distant and near, that suggests a certain sense of frustration,” he says. “But Clap Your Hands Say Yeah—the entire concept of the band, the name itself—is about balancing optimism in the face of overwhelming odds. I’m coming around to this myself -- finding that renewed sense of optimism.”