SKINNY LISTER NEW ALBUM 'THE DEVIL, THE HEART & THE FIGHT' OUT 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 // LISTEN TO FIRST TRACK 'WANTED' // HOMETOWN SHOW AND SPECIAL PREORDER NEWS

The unstoppable, wide-eyed, rump-shaking force of Skinny Lister continues apace with the announcement of their third studio album The Devil, The Heart & The Fight out 30 September 2016 through Xtra Mile Recordings. Preorder now through our XMR shop, our Kingston friends Banquet Records, online via Amazon or download only through iTunes.

Anyone who preorders the album by 28 July will be richly rewarded with a massively exclusive prize wherever you are in the world - a prize so amazing we can't even speak about it yet! Just keep hold of your proof of purchase! More info to follow.

With lead single ‘Wanted’ – a fiery Elvis-gone-folk roar of an opener that sees frontman Dan Heptinstall saluting London, New York and Cairo in a song “about looking for life in the cities we’d visit”, The Devil, The Heart & The Fight comes out fists first. 

Check out the lyric video for ‘Wanted’.

If their folk debut album (Forge & Flagon, 2012) celebrated the sticks and their punkier second (Down On Deptford Broadway, 2015) blinked in the bright lights of London; their rocked-up third sees them go global. Pieced together while on the road, and recorded over five weeks in Newcastle Under Lyme’s Silk Mill Studio in May 2016 with producer Tristan Ivemy (Frank Turner, The Holloways), it is Skinny Lister’s most far-reaching, exciting and accomplished album yet. It’s a full-on rock record that splashes even more punk vigour and 80s pop elements across their fervent folk canvas, taking in hints of Adam Ant and The Clash. It also brings the folk storytelling tradition bang up to date with its brutally honest and close-to-the-knuckle lyrics of real-life stories (‘Geordie Lad’, ‘Charlie’) and on-the-road mayhem (the Pogue-ish ‘Hamburg Drunk’).

A mature, vibrant and varied record, it mingles classic Skinny folk romances (‘Grace’, ‘Reunion’) with epic rock takes on rafter-rattling shanties (‘Beat It From The Chest’) and hearty Dexys-style tributes to the fans they meet on the road (‘Fair Winds & Following Seas’), plus a hitherto unseen darker side. Take the deceptively upbeat ‘Injuries’, Dan’s ode on the bruising nature of life, or ‘Devil In Me’, in which Lorna comes on like a particularly melodic Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction: “The devil in me will come for you and you’ll pay the price for not being very nice… you took my life, I’m taking yours, that seems to me a fair trade”. Gulp.

The Devil, The Heart & The Fight is like Skinny’s previous albums gone backpacking; expanding its horizons, full of adventure, discovering itself and doing things it regrets in the morning. Have heart, ye devils, join the fight.

Tracklisting
1. Wanted
2. Geordie Lad
3. Tragedy In A Minor
4. Devil In Me
5. Injuries
6. Reunion
7. Beat It From The Chest
8. Hamburg Drunk
9. Grace
10. Charlie
11. Fair Winds & Following Seas
12. Carry

With the exception of the five weeks recording the album, Skinny Lister have spent the last 18 months on the road touring across the UK, Europe and North America to ever-increasing crowds. Their infectious, feel-good and uplifting performances are winning over fans all across the globe, whether its supporting labelmate Frank Turner on his arena tours or headlining their own sold out shows across America. They’re a twelve-legged party machine and one of the best live bands in the country. See for yourself on their biggest headline tour to date throughout October.

Before that though, Skinny will be performing a special album announcement party in their adopted home town of Hastings at The Albion on 28 July 2016. Click here for tickets.

OCTOBER
04 Leeds @ Brudenell Social Club
05 Manchester @The Ruby Lounge
06 Newcastle @ The Cluny
07 Glasgow @ Nice N Sleazy
13 Norwich @ Waterfront Studio
14 Nottingham @ The Bodega SOLD OUT
15 Leicester @ O2 Academy 2
18 Bristol @ Exchange
19 Southampton @ The Joiners SOLD OUT
20 London @ The Garage

facebook.com/skinnylister / Twitter @SkinnyLister / skinnylister.com

SAINT LEONARD'S HORSES DEBUT ALBUM 'GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY' OUT 14 OCTOBER 2016 // PREORDER NOW

Xtra Mile Recordings will release the debut album by Saint Leonard’s Horses entitled Good Luck Everybody on 14 October 2016. Preorders are available now via our shop or download from iTunes. You'll receive the tracks 'Rise Up' and 'Spooky Lover' instantly for preordering. You can listen to the track, premiered on Q Magazine's website.

After signing his recording contract in the shadow of William Blake’s grave in London, it was only a matter of time before this curious artefact would be brought into the world. It’s a record that started life in the Hollywood Hills with a detour through the Mojave Desert, a cabin in Nashville, and a gothic church on the Yorkshire moors, and that ended up being recorded at Childwickbury Manor in St Albans, the former home of director Stanley Kubrick. It’s an ungodly collision of big country sound and misty isle musings – as thrilling a listen as is the story of its conception. 

Produced by Nick Trepka and engineered by Jack Hobbs in a studio adjacent to Kubrick’s study, it allowed Saint Leonard to absorb the creative energy that has bounced around the building. Putting sounds down in the place where parts of famed movies The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut were filmed, as well as drawing inspiration from filmic memorabilia that has found resting places there, has lent an ominous quality to the record. You can hear it in the echoes of melancholy sweeping through the harmonica intro to ‘Well, Well, Well’, it seeps into the spaces and bends between notes on ‘Spooky Lover’, the tinkly of piano and strummed, dusty chords of ‘Goddess Of Electric Gold’, and the echoed piano stabs on ‘The Strangelove Hotel Suite’. 

But this isn’t the only palette available to Saint Leonard’s Horses, not by a long shot. ‘Long John Silver’ is an Americana-steeped bluesy riot, rhyming Hotel California with Johnnie Walker and leading with honky tonk piano. The build from fiddle drone to dynamic crescendo, borrowing from gospel, rendering drama with orchestral strides, warped guitar chimes and biting solos, it’s all storytelling via sound, soaked in experience.

And all of this is a whiskey and sawdust backdrop for Saint Leonard’s lucid, intoxicated, dream-like and twisted lyrics, depicting friendships "made in haunted houses" to tales of Los Angeles. Fractured and surreal though they may sometimes be, his words just help bring scratchy, authentic sepia to life; often vibrant, sometimes violent, even bold and beautiful.  

Explaining further, Saint Leonard says: “I wanted to make a record that unflinchingly documented and almost forensically examined the extremely peripatetic and emotionally turbulent two years I had during the odyssey of its conception. To that extent the album is a self-analysing artefact of my psyche. I wanted it to express the intense polarities of the experience both internal and external, psychic and geographic, in all it's ecstatic, beatific, horrific, glamorous, occult, painfully narcissistic, quasi-mystical, robustly loving and ultimately redemptive wonder. Essentially: the feel good hit record of late autumn/winter 2016 (nee; soundtrack the twilight of our species).”

In the past few years Leonard has toured the UK and USA supporting and playing shows with Ryan Adams,  Father John Misty, Bob Dylan, The Strokes, Beck, The Libertines, Billy Bragg and Wolfmother. The live band then further honed their skills and the songs through extensive touring and festival appearances (including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, The Great Escape, SXSW and British Summer Time in Hyde Park). Saint Leonard’s Horses will now unleash these fully-formed songs on live audiences wherever and whenever they can.

Live dates:

OCTOBER

14 Brighton - Green Door Store
16 Birmingham -  Sunflower Lounge
17 Manchester - Night & Day
20 Liverpool – Shipping Forecast
21 Newcastle- Think Tank
23 Nottingham- Bodega
24 Leeds – The Library
26 St Albans - The Horn

NOVEMBER

02 London – Jamboree Cable St  
03 Margate – Tom Thumb

 facebook.com/kieranleonardmusic / Twitter @THESAINTLEONARD / www.saintleonard.co.uk  

JOHNNY LLOYD AUTUMN 2016 UK HEADLINE TOUR // 'DREAMLAND' EP OUT NOW

Johnny Lloyd has announced a nine-date headline tour of the UK this autumn. Starting in Brighton on 28 September, Lloyd will play a string of shows including London’s Barfly on 29 September. The tour will be Lloyd’s biggest run of solo shows and follows high profile support slots including The Maccabees, Mystery Jets, Jamie T and Black Honey.

Lloyd will be performing songs from his new EP Dreamland, which features tracks produced by Hugo White from The Maccabees as well as Jamie T. The digital EP is out now on Xtra Mile Recordings and reached Number 12 in the iTunes Pop Chart. Buy it here.

The single ‘Pilgrims’ is currently playlisted at Radio X after bagging the Shock Of The New daytime slot and has had further plays on 6Music thanks to Steve Lamacq and Dermot O’Leary’s Radio 2 show. The video, which features British Actor Douglas Booth, premiered on VEVO clocking up an impressive 37,000 views. Watch it below. 

UK headline tour dates:

SEPTEMBER
28 Brighton @ Bleach
29 London @ Barfly
30 Nottingham @ Bodega

OCTOBER
01 Bristol @ Louisiana  
03 Birmingham @ Sunflower Lounge
04 Manchester @ Gullivers
06 Sheffield @ Hayley
Fri 7th NEWCASTLE, Think Tank Social
Sat 8th GLASGOW Tenement Trail @Nice ’N' Sleazy                 

Praise for Dreamland
"the songwriter's finest solo moment to date" CLASH

"woozy, washed-out guitar work with a metronomic beat and languid vocals to create a warm psychedelic outing" The Line Of Best Fit

“…his lo-fi melancholy is decidedly unpolished, and it’s all the better for its roughness" Pigeons & Planes

facebook.com/johnnylloydmusic / Twitter @JohnnyLloydUK

THE RPMs ANNOUNCED FOR GLASTONBURY BBC INTRODUCING STAGE // 'DIGITAL DISOBEDIENCE' OUT 24 JUNE 2016 // BRIGHTON SHOW 2 JULY 2016

With an electrifying new EP imminent and a heroic homecoming show set to follow their eagerly anticipated appearance at this year’s Glastonbury, summer 2016 is looking radiant for Brighton’s The RPMs. 

Described by the BBC as a 'spookily young Brighton trio with killer melodies and an Arctic Monkeys rasp’, the band have plenty to celebrate as they follow the release of their debut EP Digital Disobedience on 24 June 2016 with a coveted slot on Glastonbury’s BBC Introducing Stage, the very next day. Preorder Digital Disobedience on CD, vinyl or download from our shop and you'll get two tracks from the EP – 'I Don't Like It' and 'I Think It's Stupid, But I Think It's Love' – instantly. You can also download from iTunes. Spotify has music for streaming if that's your thing.

Having earned a heap of new fans after their incendiary performance at Camden Rocks, the band will take it up another level again as they return to Glastonbury festival for the second year in a row. Their no-nonsense approach to melody is what snared them a high profile return slot following 2015’s triumphant set at Pilton Party. Expressing the band’s delight to accept an invite to this year’s bash, Jack Valero said: 

“Can’t express in words how utterly excited we are to play the BBC Intro stage at Glastonbury Festival 2016! Melita Dennett at BBC Introducing South has given us such great support and we hope to do her and BBC Intro South proud.“

To top it all off, a victory lap awaits the three-piece as they eye up a hometown show at The Hope & Ruin on 2 July. 

Hosted by the talent taste-making club night This Feeling (once described by Noel Gallagher as "the best club in the UK for future rock and roll stars”), The RPMs’ upcoming show in Brighton will be both a celebration and a thank you to the city has that supported them on their journey so far. Showing his affection for his hometown, The RPMs frontman Jack Valero said: “We absolutely love Brighton and it's the best place for young musicians to live and work on their craft. The whole town has such a great artistic vibe and we've taken so much inspiration from it. It's particularly important to us as it's where we met Miguel, our bass player, and started out playing in every dark sweaty bar we could. And if you like to party, there's always somewhere still open: we once got a carbonara at five in the morning. There's just no other town like it.”

The RPMs have a bunch more festival dates including appearances at 2000 trees and Beautiful Days,  plus a handful of tour dates with more to come.

June
18 London @ Stone Free Festival (O2)
25 Glastonbury Festival @ BBC Introducing Stage - 8.25 pm
July
02 Brighton This Feeling @ The Hope & Ruin
09 Cheltenham @ 2000trees

August
20 Ottery St Mary @ Beautiful Days Festival

September
10 Bridport @ The Bridport Arts Centre

“We're so thankful that British guitar music is again seeing gritty teens and early-20s create simple, feel-good anthems that sound superb on record but beg to be heard in a sweaty venue.” Record Of The Day

“This is simply raw energetic pop that's Instant, urgent and vital.”  Record Of The Day

“You stand out from your peers by virtue that you have a real ‘classic’ sound already…Shindig

Reminded me of the punkier end of the power pop genre with bands like The Jam, Buzzcocks....blending killer melodies with hi-energy performances” Shindig

“Really like what I've heard so far - nice one”  Mike Walsh Radio X

 facebook.com/TheRPMsOfficial / Twitter.com @The_RPMs / www.the-rpms.co.uk 

TRAPPER SCHOEPP 'SETTLIN OR SLEEPIN AROUND' VIDEO STARRING RICHARD RIEHLE FROM 'OFFICE SPACE'

Xtra Mile Recordings and Milwaukee, WI-based singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp are excited to announce the release of the music video for 'Settlin or Sleepin Around'. The song comes from Rangers & Valentines, which you can buy on CD, vinyl or download.

The lease is up but two tenants remain. Stay or go? It's decision day for Trapper and his housemate Richard Riehle (Office Space/”Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas”). Watch them contemplate another year on the block and throw the porch party of the summer:

Tour dates:

JUNE
04 Belleville, WI @ Paoli Schoolhouse
18 Sun Prairie, WI @ Sun Prairie Block Party
24 Madison, WI @ UW Madison (Memorial Union Terrace)

JULY
01 Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest (Harley Davidson Roadhouse)
05 Rockford, IL @ Anderson Japanese Gardens

AUGUST
05 Appleton, WI @ Mile of Music Festival
12 Burlington, WI @ Tall Tales Music Festival
31 Wauwatosa, WI @ Tosa Tonight

facebook.com/trapperschoepp / Twitter @trapperschoepp / trapperschoepp.com

ROB LYNCH NEW ALBUM 'BABY, I'M A RUNAWAY' OUT 22 JULY 2016 // PREORDER NOW // 'SURE THING' STREAM

Rob Lynch has announced the release of his second album via Xtra Mile Recordings. Baby, I’m A Runaway will be released on 22 July. Preorder from our shop now, or get physical formats from Rob's website, Banquet Records, or Amazon. Download can be grabbed from iTunes. You can listen to album track 'Sure Thing' below.

Lynch says: “It’s a song about being in a bit of a slump and longing for someone to drag you out of it, whether that be through a person or through music or literature. There’s a few nods to my favourite writers and artists in there. The joyous nature of the music is supposed to win out over the downbeat lyrics to invoke an overall sense that everything will be alright.”

Rob Lynch wrote his debut full length, All These Nights In Bars Will Somehow Save My Soul, over the course of the seven years that preceded its 2014 release. The journey since has taken him on well-worn roads around Germany and all over the UK. There was a long, hot summer on the Warped Tour in North America, and there were inspiring nights spent sharing stages with Charlie Simpson, Thees Uhlmann and Augustines. There were huge, life-affirming weekends treading the boards at 2000 Trees, Groezrock and Slam Dunk Festivals, too. 

But in another sense, that journey has led to places that cannot be found on any map. It led to the ten songs that make up his new record; songs of self-assessment, songs of apology, songs of mourning, hope, love and growth. The young man who wrote the introspective, ultra-personal songs in search of a bar that would save his soul was looking even deeper now, with a whole new perspective and renewed passion. He beat himself up with words that reflected the flaws and failings he’d shied away from facing before, but he also found expressions of gratitude, joy and optimism, fuelled by the wealth of incredible memories, experiences and achievements he’d notched on his travels. He wrote songs about friendship, about family, and the ties that bind. He wrote about life in all its curious, challenging and brilliant splendour.

Musically, this material demanded an expansion of the sound established on the first album. Enlisting the help of his good friends in his long-time live backing band, Jonny Ward (guitar), Tom Aylott (bass) and Charlie Thomas (drums), Rob once again recorded with Sam Duckworth (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly / Recreations) and Jay Malhotra at Amazing Grace Studios in Hoxton, London. Rob’s friends in We Are The Ocean and Deaf Havana joined the crew in the studio for a couple of creative nights, lending their voices to some of the tracks on the album. Driven by the positivity and warmth that sparked the ideas, the sounds that emerged naturally envelop much poppier, more upbeat melodies, but never come at the expense of the intimacy and honesty that he’s made his stock in trade.

Tracklisting:
1. Prove It!
2. Runaway
3. Selfish Bones
4. Sure Thing
5. Closer
6. Tectonic Plates
7. Salt Spring
8. Good For Me
9. Youth
10. Kings & Queens

Live dates:

MAY
27 York @ The Black Swan
28 Leeds @ Slam Dunk Festival
29 Birmingham @ Slam Dunk Festival
30 Hatfield @ Slam Dunk Festival

JUNE
2 London @ The Scala (supporting Fatherson) 

JULY
7 2000 Trees Festival
19 Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof
20 Hamburg, Germany @ Uebel & Gefährlich Dachgarten
21 Berlin, Germany @ Sommerloft
22 Halle, Germany @ Objekt 5
23 Hannover, Germany @ Lux
24 Cologne, Germany @ Blue Shell

facebook.com/roblynchmusic / Twitter @theroblynch / http://musicglue.com/roblynch/