London-based folk-punk heroes Skinny Lister have wrapped up an extra special present for their fans and listeners everywhere this year in the form of Christmas Calls, an epic new holiday anthem which harks back to The Pogues’ all-time classic Fairy Tale of New York while retaining an authentic Skinny Lister vibe. While on tour with Dropkick Murphy’s earlier in 2017, the band shot and self-directed the accompanying video to Christmas Calls which sees them trek across the scenic snow-dusted hills of Austria and Germany. Shot on 1970s Super 8 film and featuring behind-the-scenes tour action, the video is a Christmas postcard in itself. Watch the video clip via YouTube below.
Speaking about the track, frontman Daniel Heptinstall said: “I wrote this song in the lead up to last Christmas so I was in full festive spirit! I didn’t actually make a conscious decision to write a Christmas song, it wasn’t contrived in any way, it just arrived when I picked up the guitar one day. I am a big fan of a good Christmas track and that warm nostalgic feeling they can evoke. I’ve always had a soft spot for a bit of Chris Rea when driving up North to see the family for Christmas, or the festive rush of nostalgia I get from those opening bars of The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’. I’m more-than-happy to throw a Skinny Lister one into the mix.”
Christmas Calls is featured on a new double-CD version of Skinny Lister’s third critically acclaimed album, ‘The Devil, The Heart & The Fight,’ that features new artwork, live tracks and three brand new songs. New tracks “Thing Like That” and the band’s new holiday song lead the second CD of the package before treating the listener to the frenetic energy of their live performances from the band’s biggest sold out London show to date at the Scala, and from the Roundhouse during Frank Turner’s Lost Evenings Festival both in May 2017. This two-CD re-release is out now on Xtra Mile Recordings (Frank Turner, Against Me!), and pre-order is available through the Xtra Mile store, iTunes and Amazon. Check out the band playing Hamburg Drunk from the Roundhouse here with on-the-road footage taken from the weekend they performed at Hurricane, Southside and Glastonbury Festivals.
The bonus disc also features acoustic sessions from Paste Magazine in New York and the Xtra Mile Outside Broadcast truck which showcase the musical talents of a band that can not only give a full throttle performance on stage but are also able to strip it all back for more intimate renditions. The disc also features four tracks of live band banter, and ends with a lo-fi version of new track “Boy Ashore” which offers an intriguing insight into a rawer and folkier side of Skinny Lister.
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 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. ‘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.
‘The Devil, The Heart & The Fight’ deluxe tracklisting
CD 1
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
CD2
01. Live Intro
02. Thing Like That (new song)
03. Christmas Calls (new song)
04. Band Chat – Roundhouse
05. Wanted (Live at London Roundhouse)
06. Hamburg Drunk (Live at London Roundhouse)
07. This Is War (Live at London Roundhouse)
08. Band Chat – Sessions
09. Injuries (Paste Session)
10. Tragedy In A Minor (Paste Session)
11. Geordie Lad (XMROB1 Truck Session)
12. Band Chat – Bootlegs
13. John Kanaka (London Scala Bootleg)
14. Cathy (London Scala Bootleg)
15. Bold As Brass (London Scala Bootleg)
16. Band chat – Boy Ashore
17. Boy Ashore (new song)
Skinny Lister will be touring the U.S. in 2018 with a return appearance to SXSW in March. Dates below with more to be announced soon.
February
20 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues (Cambridge Room)
21 – San Antonio, TX – The Paper Tiger
23 – Phoenix, AZ – The Valley Bar
24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
25 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
27 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
28 – Seattle, WA – Barbooza
March
02 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
03 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
05 – Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
06 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
07 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
08 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Club at Stage AE
09 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
10 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East Downstairs
11 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
13 – Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
14 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East
15 – Mobile, AL – Merry Widow
16 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
17 – Austin, TX – SXSW
