Non Canon new single 'Self Untitled' from Non Canon II (out 15 May 2020)// Listen now

The latest offering from his long-awaited sequel album ‘Non Canon II’, out on Xtra Mile Recordings on 15 May 2020 (preorder here on vinyl, CD and download), finds the alias of Oxygen Thief’s Barry Dolan both ruminating on lost themes, while writing an epilogue to the track ‘Eponymous’; one of the many highlights of his 2016 debut. Listen to it below or on a streaming service of your choice here.

"’Self Untitled’ is a song about various ways of feeling lost; be it physically, emotionally, politically, or professionally, and looking for ways to try and find a path that will lead you back to (relative) safety,” says Barry of the track. “Sometimes these things interact and confuse each other, so moving in a good direction for one aspect of your life might have a negative effect on another. I find that situation pretty hard to put a definitive label on, hence ‘Self Untitled’, which, as I became mildly obsessed with sequels working on this album, is also a nod towards ‘Eponymous’ from my first Non Canon record.”

Marrying impassioned acoustic strum with rich, layered chamber-pop orchestrations, ‘Self Untitled’ sees Dolan’s alt-folk alter-ego coming into its own. Reminiscent of Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’-era pensive post-rock or the reflective and restrained compositions of US masters like Black Francis or Elliot Smith, the single is one of many melancholy marvels to be admired on his upcoming second LP.

On a track that reflects deeply on the notion of finding your way out of the wilderness, it is apposite that Barry surrounded himself with a host of friends to create this piece. Following on directly from spartan previous single ‘Dark Force Rising’, ‘Self Untitled’ finds Non Canon drawing back the curtain on the numerous collaborators who have lent their talents to ‘Non Canon II’. Here, Dolan’s Oxygen Thief bandmates can be heard to be laying down bass, trombone and trumpet: the woozy saxophones come courtesy of Pete Fraser (touring member of Field Music / vocalist in Down I Go), violin and violas come by the hand of The Leylines’ Hannah Johns, cello by Jonathan Clayton (Hurtling, Chris T-T And The Hoodrats); with drums by Gareth Amwel Jones (My First Tooth / Lucky Shivers).

Speaking about the collaborating on ‘Self Untitled’, Dolan says: “It’s been a real collective effort from long time friends, regular collaborators, and internet pals to turn the sounds I had in my head into a fully-formed piece of music."

Four years after his debut release for the label, Non Canon will release his second studio release: ‘Non Canon II’. The record was self produced by Barry Dolan, and recorded in studios in Bristol (Bink Bonk), London (OneCat), and Portsmouth (Old Blacksmiths Studios), along with home studios in Bristol and Stockholm. The album was expertly stitched together and mixed by Neil Elliott at Old Blacksmiths Studios, before mastering by Dan Coutant at New York’s Sun Room Audio.

Non Canon is the solo project of Barry Dolan. Hailing from Bristol, Dolan has been a prominent figure on the UK scene since emerging with his Oxygen Thief project in 2006. Over the years Dolan has supported the likes of Frank Turner, Mongol Horde, InMe, Johnny Foreigner, Chris T-T, and has established a devoted fan base of his own. A talented songwriter and performer, Dolan has been championed by BBC Introducing and BBC 6 Music (Tom Robinson). Signing with the Xtra Mile Recordings label in 2013 for Oxygen Thief’s ‘Accidents Do Not Happen, They Are Caused’ album, Dolan has since released a string of EPs and albums on the label, including the first Non Canon LP, which marked a more traditional and acoustic-based outlet for the singer. Its follow-up, ‘Non Canon II’ will be released in 2020, with live dates to be announced in due course…

Johnny Lloyd releases 'Low Fidelity Volume 2' on 6 March 2020 // Preorder now // Listen to 'Running Wild (Alternative Version)'

Xtra Mile Recordings will release Johnny Lloyd’s Low Fidleity Vol. 2 on 6 March 2020 via digital download.
Preorder and pre-save the album here.

The second volume of material will pick-up exactly where its counterpart left off and will shine a light on further unknown treasures from Johnny’s songwriting vaults. The lead single and entry-point for this collection is a new version of the euphoric ‘Running Wild’, a firm fan favourite that was originally released on Johnny’s Eden EP back in 2017. This previously unheard demo is bolstered with a crashing syncopated drum beat and a rawness of vocal that capture the track’s impassioned manifestation, whilst hinting at the dawning realisation of a turning point in Johnny’s career.  Listen to ‘Running Wild (Alternative Version)’ below.

“‘Running Wild’ was written one night after my friend and artist Angry Dan sent me a drum loop,” says Johnny. “I had been working on the chorus but the beat just brought it together. It felt new and uplifting and is still my favourite song of mine.”

With material dating back from 2014 to 2019, Low Fidelity Vol.2 includes 20 further previously unheard and unreleased demos, rarities and alternative versions of Johnny’s work. While Johnny’s official studio output during this time may have been notably reserved, the vast catalogue of material to pore over here casts a new light on what was actually a highly creative and prolific writing period for the artist. The tracks were all recorded off-the-cuff and in one take to a BOSS 8-track recorder, which Johnny has owned since his teens. As such, the results here capture the very moment of some Johnny’s creative brainwaves and preserve those bright initial sparks for listeners to tune into.

As Johnny reflects: “All these songs came as fast as I could record them. It wasn’t about finding the perfect take, just getting the idea down and moving on. I’ve always found that’s where the best stuff happens, when it’s immediate.” Avid followers of Johnny’s may recognise a number of the titles in the mix here already. Rarities such as ‘Could You Love Another’ and ‘Beautiful People’ have been cropping-up in Johnny’s live sets since 2014, whereas attendees of the 2019 UK acoustic tour will recognise the haunting ‘Crash Site’ which debuted at those shows. Alongside the aforementioned ‘Running Wild’, the collection also brings forth an alternative version of the Pilgrims EP classic ‘Nowhere to Go’ (re-titled here as ‘We Got All the Time in the World (Demo)’).

But there’s also a wealth of unheard material for fans to explore too. From the frenetic punk outburst of ‘Playing the Clown’ to the East Village folk of ‘Picture of a Century’ and the spacious Lennon-esque piano balladry of ‘Down in an Aeroplane’, it’s expansive listening throughout; low in fidelity, high in reward. 

Tracklisting

01 Running Wild (Demo)
02 Playing the Clown (Demo)
03 Could You Love Another (Demo)
04 Picture of a Century (Demo)
05 Crash Site (Demo)
06 Circus Master / Time Traveller (Demo)
07 Beautiful People (Demo)
08 Day Glow (Demo)
09 Come Awake (Demo)
10 Down in an Aeroplane (Demo)
11 Hang the Hangman (Demo)
12 How Much Is Too Much (Demo)
13 Living a Lie (Demo)
14 The Drum (Demo)
15 Traveller (Demo)
16 Living in the City (Demo)
17 People Got To Know (Demo)
18 Perfect World (Demo)
19 Through the Eyes of a Child (Demo)
20 We Got All the Time in the World (Demo)

Low Fidelity: Volume 2 continues a year of fervent activity for Johnny Lloyd, which began with the announcement of his debut solo album Next Episode Starts In 15 Seconds at the beginning of 2019. Releasing the album that same year, Johnny has taken the album to the fields of established UK festivals such as Glastonbury and 2000 Trees and even as far as We Are Todos Festival in Mexico City.

Xtra Mile Recordings signs GUISE // Preorder 'The Fun Part' EP out 6 March 2020 // Watch the video for 'The Fun Part' // UK tour with Frank Turner

Xtra Mile Recordings has signed four-piece GUISE and will release their new EP ‘The Fun Part’ on 6 March 2020. Preorder the EP here.

The announcement arrives with the unwrapping of the record’s title track which you can watch the official video for below.

Recording and performing as a folk-pop quartet, GUISE is also very much the voice and heart of: Jessica Guise. Writing and playing songs live since her teens, Jessica has honed her craft as an artist who sings with delicacy, whilst imparting vicious asides when you least suspect.

Vocal flutters conceal stinging ripostes, with hers a style that is by turns sweet and haunting. And there is no better example than the bittersweet brilliance of her latest single, ‘The Fun Part’. GUISE’s first official outing under the moniker since 2015’s self-released ‘The Boy and the Thief’ EP, Jess returns with a song that will surely strike a chord with anyone feeling blue in the lead-up to another Valentine’s Day.

“They call this the fun part, but it’s the absolute worst. My phone’s deadly silent, this is why I should never, must never ever call first,” she sings, all sweetness in voice, acerbic in her assessment of dating. Possessing a remarkable folk lilt that nods to her influences including Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks and Dar Williams, ‘The Fun Part’ finds Jessica casting off the demons of the dating-game with sardonic quip and empowering self-deprecation. The track is one of four to feature on her upcoming EP of the same title. “The songs on this EP span about ten years of my life between them,” says Jessica. “Most of them are about erstwhile heartbreaks.

‘The Fun Part’ is a song about how quite often there wasn’t a fun part of dating.” Recorded between sessions at Reservoir Studios North London in November 2018 and finished during gaps in the band’s various schedules throughout 2019, ‘The Fun Part’ EP was produced by Jessica’s husband, Frank Turner.

The EP finds the singer joining the dots on a decade of life-changing events, from songs reflecting on loved-ones lost and the importance of family, to more earnest expressions on romantic entanglements gone awry, showcasing confessional folk-pop songs laden with Jessica’s tongue-in-cheek humour, wry intelligence and shot through with the honest confidence of life lessons learned the hard way.

Jessica is accompanied on the EP by her talented and faithful band, bassist Titas Halder, co-vocalist Laura Hanna, and drummer Keith Barry.

With the EP release just a few weeks away, Jessica will be airing tracks from it and more as she supports Frank Turner at a series of UK shows scheduled throughout March. Full dates and details below.

UK TOUR SUPPORTING FRANK TURNER

MARCH 2020

03 Folkstone @ Lea Cliffs Hall
04 Brighton @ Dome
06 Croydon @ The Recreational, Fairfield Hall SOLD OUT
07 Boston @ Gliderdrome
08 York @ The Barbican
10 Middlesbrough @ The Empire
11 Glasgow @ Barrowlands
13 Bath @ The Forum SOLD OUT
14 Aylesbury @ Waterside Theatre
15 Southend @ Cliffs Pavilion
16 Norwich @ Waterfront SOLD OUT
18 Winchester @ Guildhall SOLD OUT
19 Exeter @ Lemongrove SOLD OUT
20 Liverpool @ Olympia SOLD OUT
21 Nottingham @ Rock City SOLD OUT

GUISE on: Spotify / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Brand New Friend release romantic new single 'Stop the Days' ahead of new EP out Valentine's Day

Have you ever wondered what Alex Turner (he of the Arctic Monkeys) and Alexa Chung (one-time super popular television presenter, model and, now, fashion designer) may have said to one-another when a certain romance blossomed between the two at the height of the 00’s indie-music boom? Well, so have Brand New Friend.

In anticipation of their A Cure For Living EP, released this Valentines Day (14 February 2020) via Xtra Mile Recordings (preorder the digital release here) the Northern Irish alt-rockers are clearly feeling the love already and have released ‘Stop The Days’, a new track that finds the band daydreaming about indie’s once-upon-a-time golden couple.

Listen to ‘Stop The Days’ below and here.

Opening-up about the ‘Stop The Days’, the band say: “Stop The Days’ is an imagined conversation between Alex Turner and Alexa Chung, circa 2007. Do you remember the Valentine’s card he wrote for her that was left in the bar and leaked to the press? ‘My mouth hasn’t shut up about you since you kissed it’. It’s essentially me talking to someone, through millionaire rockstar Alex Turner and highly successful broadcaster/writer/fashion designer Alexa Chung. He tells her that if he could stop the days, he would. In a heartbeat. So they could spend more time together. It’s very simple, it makes me very happy every time we play it.”

A pure rush of endorphins, ‘Stop The Days’ distills everything we’ve ever loved about Brand New Friend into a short, sweet three-minute hit that’s guaranteed to have you head-over-heels. The new track directly follows BBC Radio 1 and Radio X supported ‘Nothing Stays The Same’ and ‘The Letter A’, and will sit alongside them on the band’s highly anticipated new release A Cure For Living.

To commemorate the upcoming release, Brand New Friend will be hitting the road once again, with their first shows of the year taking place at Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre (as part of Independent Venue Week) and a hometown gig at Kelly’s Bar in Portrush on 7 March. The band have also just announced an additional Belfast show on Saturday 14 March, headlining the city’s Voodoo Rooms with support from Cherym and The Florentinas. Standby for new dates to be announced very shortly.

2020 TOUR DATES

March

07 Portrush @ Kelly’s Bar
14 Belfast @ Voodoo Rooms

www.brandnewfriend.co.uk / Facebook: /brandnewfriendmusic / Twitter: @brandnewfriendz / Instagram: @brandnewfriendz

Non Canon announces second album 'Non Canon II' out 15 May 2020 // Listen to single 'Dark Force Rising'

Four years after his debut release for the label, Oxygen Thief’s Barry Dolan will be reviving his parallel alter-ego for a new studio release, Non Canon II, out 15 May 2020. Preorder it on CD, vinyl and digital download.

A novel limited edition of ‘Eco-mix vinyl’ - created from a lucky dip blend of colours recycled from leftovers from other coloured vinyl releases - will also be available, with each vinyl press guaranteed to be individually unique.

As a forecast of the new record in-waiting, Non Canon lays out a thought provoking opening salvo with lead single: ‘Dark Force Rising’. Watch the video below.

In something of a radical transformation, Non Canon’s debut saw Dolan mellow the mood and melodies of his punk-preened Oxygen Thief project and reinvent himself with a new moniker more musically open-minded but no less lyrically stimulating. As all great sequels do, in many ways Non Canon II picks-up where its predecessor left-off. Yet, this is a very different world to the one Dolan wrote about back in 2016.

“The second Non Canon album is 10 songs about feelings, politics, and feelings about politics,” says Dolan. Our entry point and lead single, ‘Dark Force Rising’ is one of the album’s most stripped-back songs in terms of its instrumentation; its gossamer acoustic spindling leaving Dolan’s vocals bare and free from alternative interpretation as he seeks to cut straight to the album’s core themes.

“I wanted the first song that people heard from it to represent all of the album’s themes. ‘Dark Force Rising’ is a song about standing up against bigotry in all its forms and trying to be brave enough not to agree to disagree with viewpoints we find abhorrent for the sake of an easier life.”

A peaceful protest song that highlights the importance of acceptance, togetherness and community, ‘Dark Force Rising’ emphasises its values with the hair-on-end sounds of collective voices singing in unison; but this is one choir quite unlike any listeners may have encountered before. Before completing the track, Dolan reached out to his friends all around the world asking for vocal recordings to reiterate his message. Overwhelmed with contributions, he then painstakingly layered the tones together at his UK studio to create a kind-of digital choir out of the ether (or Ethernet if you like). And the results are striking. Creating a stirring climax to the song, voices come together from continents apart with one a powerful message of solidarity and hope that together deal a deft blow to the alt-right, men’s rights activists, anti-trans lobbyists, and other such hate-groups.

‘Dark Force Rising’ is a formidable first indication into the widescreen narratives that will unfold on Non Canon II. With the last few years proving to be a mine of inspiration for a songwriter who has made a career as a commentator of social change, Dolan proves he has spent his time away wisely and channels his experiences on this follow-up.

“I wrote and demoed the album in early January 2019” says Dolan, “a time of dark mornings, dark early evenings, and with the first (of what turned out to be several) Brexit deadlines looming ominously on the horizon.” The wistful and elegant slow-burn of album opener ‘Never Say Never Again’ captures the mood, and is one of many to offer ruminations on mental health issues framed in a world that long since seems to have lost its mind. “it was inspired by a medication review with my GP when I literally had to say that I didn’t know how well things were working because of how much there is to genuinely to worry about at the moment.”

Inversely, songs like ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ search for ways we can help ourselves when things begin to spiral out of control. “It’s about remembering to take a deep breath and not let things overwhelm you… kind of a self-care anthem”. Elsewhere, there’s topical reflections on global social issues such as the aforementioned LGBTQ+ defending ‘Dark Force Rising’ and its haunting companion track ‘A Teapot and an Open Mind’, written after a difficult conversation with someone who Dolan believed was “old enough to know better”, both of which put the sword to internet trolls and those who revel in the preaching of hatred.

And there’s time for broader topics too, from songs mulling over the changes we experience as we continue to grow into adulthood and try to find our calling (‘The Cavalier Years’), to straight-up love songs like the weightless finger-picked folk of ‘Sharpie’ (an intended part-2-of-sorts to ‘Crayola’ from Non Canon’s debut).

As with his debut, Non Canon II is playfully packed with sci-fi and pop culture references that add layers of humour and intrigue at every turn. With a litany of references pilfered from James Bond, to Star Wars, Doctor Who, the Bible, and Indiana Jones across the record, fiction fans will read the tracklisting alone like a list of crossword clues waiting to be cracked. Showcasing Dolan’s deft ability to capture the microscopic and macroscopic of the world around us with earnest aplomb and tangible relatability, Non Canon II is demonstrative of a songwriter now assured in his craft; but also an artist with a burning desire to explore new avenues in sound. Using the record to delve even deeper into the folkier and more traditional callings of his first Non Canon outing, the record plays with loping and bluesy acoustica as on ‘Kingdom of The Crystal Skull’, haunting chamber-pop on ‘Self Untitled’, to arrangements that wouldn’t be unfamiliar in a smoky New Orleans blues bar (‘The Saying Of The Seers’).

Assisting his quest, Non Canon II finds Dolan joined by a host of guest musicians throughout who each offer their unique talents. Neil Elliott and Ben Whyntie, previously of Barry’s heavy rock/metal outfit Oxygen Thief; Pete Fraser (touring member of Field Music and vocalist of super-noisy-math-metal trio Down I Go); Gareth Amwel Jones (My First Tooth/Lucky Shivers); drums by Jon Clayton (Hurtling, Chris T-T & the Hoodrats); cellos by Hannah Johns (The Leylines); violin/viola by Ryan Brooks (Left Side Brain/Super Goliath); and piano by Alex Ball (composer and popular YouTuber). Non Canon II was self produced by Barry Dolan, and recorded in studios in Bristol (Bink Bonk), London (OneCat), and Portsmouth (Old Blacksmiths Studios), along with home studios in Bristol and Stockholm. The album was expertly stitched together and mixed by Neil Elliott at Old Blacksmiths Studios, before mastering by Dan Coutant at New York’s Sun Room Audio.

Exploring new frontiers and themes with real depth, Non Canon II is sure to establish itself among fans as a worthy and welcome addition to the franchise. But with the world in such a precarious state, will this be the dramatic finale, or next in line of a trilogy? “Sequels have been on my mind quite a lot when writing and making this record to be honest hence settling on the title Non Canon II,” says Dolan. “I love drawing lines between events, songs, and the people who play on them - there are guest musicians on this record who I’ve known and hung out with regularly for over 20 years, there are some who I’ve gotten to know fairly recently through the internet, and this record wouldn’t be quite the same without any of them. Hopefully it’s a story that will continue.”

Non Canon II tracklisting

1. Never Say Never Again
2. The Cavalier Years
3. Dark Force Rising
4. The Sayings of the Seers
5. MMXIX
6. Sharpie
7. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
8. Self Untitled
9. A Teapot and an Open Mind
10. And Another Thing…

Non Canon is the solo project of Barry Dolan. Hailing from Bristol, Dolan has been a prominent figure on the UK scene since emerging with his Oxygen Thief project in 2006. Over the years Dolan has supported the likes of Frank Turner, Mongol Horde, InMe, Johnny Foreigner, Chris T-T, and has established a devoted fan base of his own. A talented songwriter and performer, Dolan has been championed by the likes of BBC Introducing and BBC 6 Music (Tom Robinson). Signing with the Xtra Mile Recordings label in 2013 for Oxygen Thief’s Accidents Do Not Happen, They Are Caused mini-album, Dolan has since released a string of EPs and albums on the label, including the first Non Canon LP, which marked a more traditional and acoustic-based outlet for the singer.

Brand New Friend release new EP 'A Cure For Living' on 14 February 2020 // Watch the video for 'Nothing Stays the Same'

Brand New Friend will release their new EP A Cure For Living on 14 February 2020 on digital download through Xtra Mile Recordings. Preorder the EP here.

This is their first recorded material since single ‘The Letter A’ released in autumn 2019, and their debut album Seatbelts For Aeroplanes back in spring 2018. You can watch the video for ‘Nothing Stays the Same’ below.

The Northern Irish indie-pop quintet were inspired by characters imagined by 80s indie veteran Lloyd Cole in his timeless ‘Jennifer She Said’ track, for ‘Nothing Stays The Same’. The band muse on just what may have happened next for Lloyd’s lovelorn protagonist.

“'Nothing Stays The Same' is a love song constantly shifting perspective between two people. It's the sound of two people who love each other deeply but who know they're running out of distance. It's framed in the Botanic area of Belfast, in the old Botanical gardens near Queens University. In the rain, of course. I was heavily inspired by Lloyd Cole on this track, I love the way he colours his world so you can see who he's singing about when you close your eyes. The girl in this song is Jennifer, from 'Jennifer She Said'. Hopefully it all works out for her…”

Artwork for Brand New Friend’s A Cure For Living EP

Losing none of that trademark pop punch and feedback fizz, A Cure For Living is centred as always around the disarming songwriting and lilting harmonies provided by brother and sister Taylor and Lauren Johnson, performed by a band who’s propulsion into the spotlight since their bedroom pop days has notably sharpened them in all departments and instilled a tangible hunger to excite with the next chapter in their story. From the roller coaster clatter of ‘She Always Comes Up Smiling’, to the sugar-coated rush of ‘The Karma Party’, the tender balladry of ‘You Can’t Know Everything, I Don’t Know Anything’ and anthemic closer ‘Plastic Flowers’; like the friend you’ve always known, the Castlerock quintet’s new EP is at once familiar, but still always knows how to surprise you.

Following their ‘Nothing Stays the Same’ tour in Ireland in autumn 2019, Brand New Friend now look to take their incendiary live show back out on the road this winter/spring with a crop of UK and EIRE headline shows in support of the EP. The band headline Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre as part of Independent Venue Week on 31 January 2020 and a hometown gig at Kelly’s Bar in Portrush on 7 March 2020 with more dates to be announced soon.

www.brandnewfriend.co.uk / Facebook: /brandnewfriendmusic / Twitter: @brandnewfriendz / Instagram: @brandnewfriendz