FRANZ NICOLAY REVEALS NEW VIDEO 'BRIGHT WHITE' // NEW ALBUM 'TO US, THE BEAUTIFUL' OUT NOW

Franz Nicolay unleashes the new video for track ‘Bright White’ in preparation for his forthcoming UK tour.  Taken from his latest album To Us, The Beautiful – out now through Xtra Mile Recordings on CD, clear and blue splatter vinyl, and download – this video was directed by friend and bandmate Andrew Seward (ex-Against Me!). You can watch the video below:

The video was recorded while on the road with the full band, exploring the brief but intense life spiral of a band on tour. Mostly filmed from the car dashboard as they travel across country, and in a homely, untidy motel room, we peek into the sleep- and-drive rigmarole of travelling musicians. Surrounded by the trappings of their lifestyle (like gaffer tape and bottles of water) it captures the essence of Franz’s hard-working but ultimately free artistry. ‘Bright White’ also spills over with this, rooted in riffs and combustible breakdowns but with Franz’s eloquent, eccentric vocals flung over the results. 

Photo by Andrew Seward

Photo by Andrew Seward

To Us, The Beautiful is Franz’s fourth solo full-length and his second with Xtra Mile Recordings, and provides newcomers with a refreshing burst of elegant, eccentric and elegiac songs with a deliberate rock bent. Long-term fans will find a more straightforward chapter in Franz’s story, still gleaming with banjo twang and his distinctive theatrical voice, so they won’t be lost among the distortion and melodic drive.

Franz will be live in the UK in March 2015, let him wow you at a show or two. Look at our gigs calendar.

Praise for Franz Nicolay:

“Natural-born star…really something special.” – Pitchfork
“A great storyteller and wordsmith.” – Punknews

Praise for To Us, The Beautiful:

"Nicolay could probably sing the phone book and make it sound like Dostoevsky." - Éclat
"Fantastic...all of the scope and grandeur we've come to expect from a Franz Nicolay full-length...Franz Nicolay is the complete songwriter and To Us, The Beautiful is undoubtedly the first great record of 2015." - The Ruckus
"Perhaps his most accessible record to date...At its heart, this is a pure punk-rock record...balance[d] between boisterous celebration and punk-rock anger...an album that lives with you after you've pressed the pause button...a bold and confident statement. 4.5/5" - Contact Music
"Exhilarating...It’s a staggering album, maybe the first truly great release of 2015. 4.5/5" - God Is In The TV
"Filled with huge torch songs, heartfelt acoustic numbers and buzzing three-minute pop songs. 4/5" - Already Heard
"Every track brings its own reward...Recommend[ed]." - Echoes and Dust
"Masterfully emotional song-writing. 8/10" - Toxic Online
"A ramshackle treat." – Stereoboard

www.franznicolay.com / @FranzNicolay / Facebook

ROB LYNCH SUPPORTS CHUCK RAGAN FOR A TRIO OF UK AND IRISH SHOWS IN MARCH 2015

London based indie-punk troubadour Rob Lynch plays a trio of special shows in March 2015, including his first trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland, as special guest of Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan.

Providing the perfect high-spirited and infectious foil to Ragan’s warm, earthy growl, Rob Lynch’s melodies will no doubt capture the hearts of fresh ears supporting Ragan’s Till Midnight tour.

Following the release of his debut album All These Nights In Bars Will Somehow Save My Soul in September 2014 on Xtra Mile Recordings - which you can buy from our web shop, Amazon, and iTunes - Rob has toured extensively in the UK and Germany, including a January stint successfully co-headlining with the excellent Allison Weiss. He continues to impress and garner followers with each show and has also caught the ears of some renowned and respected acts. Ragan is most definitely one of those.

The three dates, stopping in Dublin, Belfast and Inverness, are in March and can be seen on our gigs calendar and synced to your Google calendar too. .

Recently Rob released a free download of previously unreleased track 'Lord Knows I Have Tried'.

www.facebook.com/roblynchmusic / @TheRobLynch

SKINNY LISTER'S NEW VIDEO FOR 'CATHY' PREMIERES TODAY

Following last week's stream of new single 'Cathy' from Skinny Lister's second album 'Down On Deptford Broadway' - out on 20 April 2015 through Xtra Mile Recordings, preorder CD and download from out digital shop - you can now watch the brand new video for the single on Vevo. Watch it here. Or feast your eyes below.

Purchase the new album 'Down On Deptford Broadway' featuring 'Cathy': http://smarturl.it/Skinny-DODB-Digital http://smarturl.it/Skinny-DODB-XMR http://smarturl.it/Skinny-DODB-Banquet http://smarturl.it/Skinny-DODB-AmazonCD http://smarturl.it/Skinny-DODB-AmazonLP 'Cathy' is the second single to be taken from Skinny Lister's forthcoming album 'Down On Deptford Broadway' out on 20th April 2015 on Xtra Mile Recordings.

NEW TRACK 'CATHY' NOW STREAMING // NEW ALBUM 'DOWN ON DEPTFORD BROADWAY' OUT 20 APRIL 2015 // UK HEADLINE TOUR

Following last week’s sold out shows supporting Frank Turner for Independent Venue Week, Skinny Lister have unveiled their new single ‘Cathy’. Listen here:

New Skinny Lister album 'Down On Deptford Broadway' out 20th April 2015. Pre-order: http://smarturl.it/Skinny-DODB-XMR

It’s a perfect slice of infectious sing-a-long punk ‘n’ roll, fusing their traditional shanti-inspired folk with an attitude and stomp of The Pogues. Singer and guitarist Dan explains:

"'Cathy' is an ode to addiction and recklessness. A declaration of desire for someone or something that you know is bad for you, and you'd be wise to steer well clear of. The classic wrestle between head and heart." 

It is the second single to be taken from their forthcoming album  out on 20th April 2015 on Xtra Mile Recordings. Preorder the CD or download from us now, vinyl and CD from Banquet Records, CD from Amazon CD or vinyl from Amazon LP, or download from iTunes. Packed with smart songwriting; bursting with catchy choruses and high energy it’s a fast-paced, uplifting, beer-swilling good-time record perfectly capturing their legendary live shows.

The last single ‘Trouble On Oxford Street’ garnered support from Steve Lamacq at 6Music and John Kennedy at XFM. Check out the video here:

Taken from the forthcoming album 'Down On Deptford Broadway', set for release April 2015 on Xtra Mile Recordings.

Coinciding with the album release the band tour with Chuck Ragan in the UK and Europe throughout March before heading off on their own headline tour of the UK in April and May. You can see the dates on our gigs calendar.

From day one, Skinny Lister set out to cause chaos and make friends, travelling to the four corners of the globe plying their unique rum-soaked blend of English folk and punk rock anarchy. From Japan's Fuji Rock Festival to the desert stage of California's prestigious Coachella, via the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury and many a festival across Europe and beyond, Skinny Lister are an experience never to be forgotten.

They’ve held gigs in Land Rovers. They’ve sung while wing-walking. They’ve toured in a narrow boat. They’ve stomped and jigged on restaurant tables, in hotel elevators and in record label car parks. And wherever they play their lusty shanties, punk folk roar-alongs and crazed whirls of love, fighting and hardcore drinking – you’ll find them out dancing with the crowd, passing around their flagon of rum or crowd-surfing to the bar to neck shots mid-song. Make no bones – Skinny Lister are the wildest party band you’ll ever get drunk with. And you will get drunk with them.

Tracklisting for Down On Deptford Broadway:

Raise A Wreck
Trouble On Oxford Street
George’s Glass
What Can I Say?
Cathy
Six Whiskies
This Is War
Ten Thousands Voices
Bonny Away
Bold As Brass
This City
The Dreich

www.skinnylister.com / @skinnylister / www.facebook.com/skinnylister

 

PREORDER TO KILL A KING'S SELF-TITLED SECOND ALBUM OUT 2 MARCH 2015 // LISTEN TO SINGLE 'LOVE IS NOT CONTROL'

London five-piece To Kill A King have announced details of their self-titled new album, to be released 2 March 2015 on Xtra Mile Recordings. You can preorder the album direct from Xtra Mile's webshop on physical and digital formats, from Banquet Records for something you can hold, via Amazon for all formats, and either Google Play or iTunes for a download copy. All digital pre-orders include 2 instant grats - Love Is Not Control and Oh My Love. 

The follow up to their 2013 debut Cannibals With Cutlery, To Kill A King was recorded in The Distillery studio in Wiltshire with producer Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag n Bone Man). You can listen to lead single 'Love Is Not Control' below.

To Kill A King - Love Is Not Control

Tracklisting:

  1. Compare Scars
  2. Love is not Control
  3. Oh My Love
  4. Friends
  5. The Chancer
  6. School Yard Rumours
  7. Good Times (A Rake's Progress)
  8. Musicians like Gamblers like Drunks like Me
  9. Grace at a Party
  10. World Of Joy (A List of Things To Do)
  11. Today
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The band will embark on a UK tour in March following the new album’s release, including their biggest headline show to date at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 14th March. You can find all dates and ticket links for the tour on our gigs calendar.

To Kill A King is the sound of a band hitting the peak of their powers. It’s the sort of record that could only be made now, an album where stadium-sized choruses, artful dynamism and sonic experimentalism slide seamlessly together. It’s also an album with a message – make now count. Says frontman Ralph Pelleymounter, “Compared to our last album, there has been a definite effort on this one to be more optimistic and more life-affirming.”

Pelleymounter and his bandmates – Grant McNeil (electric guitar), Ben Jackson (synth and keys), Josh Platman (bass) and Josh Taffel (drums) – are on the cusp of a big breakthrough and they have made a record fit to kick the door down. It will place the quintet firmly in the lineage of British guitar bands, such as Foals, The Maccabees, and Bombay Bicycle Club, who make imaginative, driving indie-rock. Like those groups, To Kill A King make music with no straitjacket on, a heady blend of youthful exuberance and spirited independence.

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To Kill A King’s striking cover art features drummer Josh’s father Warren Taffel, who is pictured playing chess with his younger self. The original photo of the younger Warren was taken in the mid-‘50s, when Warren was 24, the same age as Josh is now,.

Aside from recording the new album, To Kill A King spent much of 2014 on the road. A headline UK tour culminated in a sold-out London date at Koko, and they also completed their first headline European Tour. They toured the USA as support to Bastille, performed at SXSW, and supported Xtra Mile label mate Frank Turner in Arizona.