Americana-tinged folk songwriter PJ Bond has signed to Xtra Mile Recordings and will release his new album Where Were You? on 4 May 2015. You can pre-order the album on CD and download from the following places:
You can also stream 'Broad Street', the first single to be taken from the album, here.
PJ Bond has been compared to Elliot Smith, Micah P Hinson, and Wilco, while his new album reveals all the bombast and ambition of someone who has listened to a fair amount of Dylan or Springsteen, and dreamed. He's spent years travelling and playing to everyone he could, essentially homeless, while recording a heap of songs, including for the breakout solo release, You Didn't Know I Was Alphabetical.
His lyrics cover topics that lace the modern musical lexicon – love, loss, friendship, family, and music. But you've also got a wink and nod to infidelity and murder on 'Everglades', while '87 Broadcast' (which revolves around his "complex relationship with music, 'making it', songs, connecting with other people”) boasts the refrain 'the radio makes you honest'.
Xtra Mile and PJ Bond were introduced by labelmate Billy the Kid, when Billy put forward 'I'm In a Bad Way' for Xtra Mile's fifth Xtra Mile High Club compilation, which included unsigned artists picked by the entire XMR roster. It was such a good choice, and fit with the label so well, that releasing the record seemed inevitable.
Talking about the signing with Xtra Mile, PJ said:
“Xtra Mile is one of the rare labels where it seems that they put out music that they truly believe in, and are not so much constrained by genre that they'll question whether or not it is a 'good idea'. This approach by clearly music-loving people is what drew me most to XMR, and was supported by everyone with whom I spoke about them. Honesty, respect, heart, these are the common threads. All in all, I think I've found a lovely home.”
We couldn't agree more, and we're happy to have him.
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