The Gathering in 2021

See pictures and videos of our artists who took part in our celebratory The Gathering shows led by Frank Turner, and our wrap up of Xtra Mile’s year in 2021.

- 8/12/2021 -

As we emerged from our ragged chrysalises - a little tentative, somewhat changed and hopeful for life to reivive us again - 2021 greeted us with a mixed year that might not have been exactly what we hoped for but at least allowed us to peer at the bright horizon.

For Xtra Mile, it was a much needed surge of activity after the doldrums of 2020. As well as gleefully launching the good summer ship The Gathering for you all to board, we also aided the return of Frank Turner’s Lost Evenings festival to its original Roundhouse home in September, and released a selection of excellent records for you to own.

BERRIES kicked off our 2021 with their first release for us, the single ‘Copy’.

‘Copy’ set out the band’s blueprint for intricate web-like guitar work that houses the choppy, surging chorus BERRIES blare so well.

They followed this up with with their ‘Live Sessions from Big Smith Studios’ EP featuring four live studio songs - including the aforementioned single, sharpened with the chemistry of the trio in the same room - showing the edge and breadth of their Breeders via Sleater-Kinney swathe.

Speaking of which, they released a cover of the latter band’s ‘Dance Song ‘97’ which is included on the flexi-disc version of ‘The Expert’, a brooding seam of artrock in its own right. After joining us at The Gathering set of shows, their own headline show at the Grace in London and a set at Lost Evenings in September, BERRIES have fit so well to our fold. We’re excited to announce more from them next year.

Crazy Arm, long-time friends of the label whose first three albums we released in the past, came back with their first new album in seven years: ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’.

After 2013’s beautiful folk stampeded, ‘The Southern Wild’, Crazy Arm brought us back the heavier, layered and potent rock we know them for. With brass cramming its way into a bold, rollicking set of songs that otherwise sear, burn, riot and enrich the land, their fourth full-length is an unbelievable return. It’s one you bust open the castle gates for and trumpet a tribute far and wide. ‘The Golden Hind’, ‘Brave Starts Here’, ‘Montenegro’ are all incredible, seething starting points, while the wonderully titled ‘Epicurean Firestorm’ and ‘Howl of the Heart’ among others bring more to chew on.

PET NEEDS were a boon to the label and every show we saw them play this year.

In March, we released their debut album ‘Fractured Party Music’ - mixed and mastered by Frank Turner. It’s a searing blitz of torrential guitar, frenetic voices and lyrical lasering, cutting modern life online and outside into neat little chunks that can be chewed, digested or spat out. It’s both frightening in its energy and scored deeply into any listener’s internal punk rock playlist. Buy it here, because it’s one of 2021’s best.

Whether acoustic or fully amplified, PET NEEDS managed to impress, electrify and convert growing audiences, with a healthy Xtra Mile family contingent sure to be joining the audience for several dates on their tours next year and beyond.

Johnny Lloyd, as prolific as ever, released two records. His first was a collaborative score with Nathan Coen for the film ‘Rare Beasts’. Read more about that here. The soundtrack includes the title track of his debut album ‘Next Episode Starts in 15 Seconds’ with a suite of multi-instrumental pieces moving from the gentle lilting beauty of ‘Sax in the Rain’ and the short-lived orchestral sweep of the title track to the disorienting stomp of No Prospects and finally the closing anthemic strum of ‘Happy Out Loud’.

The second was Johnny’s third studio album in as many years, ‘La La La’. A ‘sun-drenched’ and lithe set of songs, with the electronic soothing of Joypolis to the huge 70s Dylan-eque ‘Beautiful World’, it’s a sublime collection. It may well be his best so far, really embracing an Americana-inspired edge while retaining his dream-like voice and influences of previous solo EPs and his old band Tribes.

A Matter of Life and Love album cover featuring an illustrated rum jug

Skinny Lister capped off our year with their fifth studio album ‘A Matter of Life and Love’.

Like a modern-day Jam, Skinny dip deftly into their folk-shanty past while skimming the anthemic indie and ska-spiced influences into their already heady brew. Fans will be familiar with the comforting arms-atangled sway of ‘History’, a capaella stomp of ‘Damn the Amsterdam’ and soft chiming, string-silted ballads of ‘Embers’ and ‘Bonnie’s Eyes’. But expanding on their sound explored further on their previous album, there’s a Turner-esque road song, a merge of Madness and ‘Town Called Malice’ on the title track and the much-needed ‘Shout It Out’ with its rallying call to those who’ve had a hard time this (and any other) year.

Skinny have been on a big tour of the UK this autumn and act as a reminder of just what we’re doing here. Bands, music, crowds, venues, the road, records and merch, it’s all part of what we do and it’s inherent in the way we live our lives.

Finally, we found time to repress a vinyl favourite on 180g - Frank Turner’s second album Love Ire & Song.

With that recap, here’s some memories for you - we’re taking you back to the summer of The Gathering, when we were all finally allowed out to play (safely). Here’s some performances and photos from that amazing comeback tour after a year away from what we love.