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| photo: Claus Morgenstern |
UK six-piece Skinny Lister announce their third studio album titled The Devil, The Heart & The Fight, which will be released by the London-based independent label Xtra Mile Recordings (Frank Turner, Against Me!).
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 video for ‘Wanted’ HERE.
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, The Devil, The Heart & The Fight sees Skinny Lister going 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 eighties 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”.
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.
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, often supporting label mate Frank Turner on his arena tours or headlining their own sold out shows across America.
Tour dates:
November
03 - CHICAGO, IL - Lincoln Hall + Schubas
04 - CLEVELAND, OH - Grog Shop
05 - PONTIAC, MI - The Pike Room
06 - PITTSBURGH, PA - Stage AE (Club)
07 - BOSTON, MA - Middle East Downstairs
09 - NEW YORK, NY - Webster Hall
10 - PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Foundry at the Fillmore Philadelphia
11 - WASHINGTON DC - Rock And Roll Hotel
12 - CHARLOTTE, NC - The Evening Muse
13 - ATLANTA, GA - The Masquerade
15 - NASHVILLE, TN - The Basement East
16 - SPRINGFIELD, MO - Outland Bar
17 - KANSAS CITY, MO - The Riot Room
18 - DENVER, CO - The Bluebird Theater
19 - SALT LAKE CITY, UT - The State Room
20 - BOISE, ID - Neurolux
22 - SEATTLE, WA - Barboza
23 - PORTLAND, OR - Star Theater Portland
25 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Bottom of the Hill
27 - SAN DIEGO, CA - Soda Bar
28 - PHOENIX, AZ - The Rebel Lounge
30 - DALLAS, TX - Three Links - Deep Ellum, TX
December
01 - AUSTIN, TX - Stubb's Jr.
02 - HOUSTON, TX - The Secret Group
04 - NEW ORLEANS, LA - House of Blues New Orleans
Track listing:
01. Wanted
02. Geordie Lad
03. Tragedy In A Minor
04. Devil In Me
05. Injuries
06. Reunion
07. Beat It From The Chest
08. Hamburg Drunk
09. Grace
10. Charlie
11. Fair Winds & Following Seas
12. Carry
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