FRANZ NICOLAY
NEW VIDEO FOR BRIGHT WHITE

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 on 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!).

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. 

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 the follow dates:
13 - Perth @ The Twa Tams (w/ Broken Stories)
14 - Dundee @ Buskers (w/ Broken Stories)
15 - Glasgow @ 13th Note (w/ Broken Stories)
16 - Belfast @ The Bar With No Name
17 - Edinburgh @ Banshee Labyrinth  (w/ Broken Stories)
18 - Huddersfield @ HDM Beer Shop
19 - Leicester - Soundhouse
20 - Manchester @ Star and Garter
21 - Peterborough @ Met Lounge
22 - Norwich @ Owl Sanctuary
23 - Plymouth @ Underground
24 - London @ Brixton Windmill (w/ Jon Shoe)
25 - Exeter @ The Cavern (w/ Jon Shoe)
26 - Bristol @ The Exchange (w/ Jon Shoe)
27 - Southampton @ Joiners (w/ Jon Shoe)

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 / www.xtramilerecordings.com

PJ BOND Signs to Xtra Mile Recordings

PJ BOND

Signs to Xtra Mile Recordings

New album 'Where Were You?' out 4 May 2015.

Americana-tinged-folk songwriter PJ Bond has signed to Xtra Mile Recordings and will release his new album Where Were You? on 4 May 2015.

Stream ‘Broad Street’, the first single to be taken from the album 

You can pre-order the album on CD and download from the following places:

Xtra Mile Recordings – http://smarturl.it/PJBond-WWY_XMR
Amazon – http://smarturl.it/PJBond-WWY_Amz

Google Play - http://smarturl.it/PJBond-WWY_GP

PJ Bond has been compared to Elliot Smith, Micah P Hinson, and Wilco, while his new album reveals all the bombast and ambition of someone who has listened to a fair amount of Dylan or Springsteen, and dreamed. He's spent years travelling and playing to everyone he could, essentially homeless, while recording a heap of songs including for the breakout solo release You Didn't Know I Was Alphabetical.

His lyrics cover topics that lace the modern musical lexicon – love, loss, friendship, family, and music. But you've also got the wink and nod to infidelity and murder on 'Everglades', while '87 Broadcast' (“which revolves around my complex relationship with music, 'making it', songs, connecting with other people”) boasts the refrain 'the radio makes you honest'.

Xtra Mile and PJ Bond were introduced by labelmate Billy the Kid, when Billy put forward 'I'm In a Bad Way' for Xtra Mile's fifth Xtra Mile High Club compilation, which included unsigned artists picked by the entire XMR roster. It was such a good choice, and fit with the label, that releasing the record seemed inevitable.

Talking about the signing with Xtra Mile, PJ said:

“Xtra Mile is one of the rare labels where it seems that they put out music that they truly believe in, and are not so much constrained by genre that they'll question whether or not it is a 'good idea'. This approach by clearly music-loving people is what drew me most to XMR, and was supported by everyone with whom I spoke about them. Honesty, respect, heart, these are the common threads. All in all, I think I've found a lovely home.”

We couldn't agree more, and we're happy to have him.

www.facebook.com/PJBond / Twitter @pjbondmusic / pjbondmusic.tumblr.com  / www.xtramilerecordings.com