Shanty-punks Skinny Lister are back with a boisterous new single ahead of a long-awaited studio album.
A Matter Of Life & Love will be released on Xtra Mile Recordings on 22 October, as the band’s career enters a new chapter.
It’s the first record entirely written, produced, recorded and mixed by Skinny Lister themselves. That means it finds them with a spring in their step and renewed sense of confidence.
Sea shanty
The announcement is coupled with the release of new single Damn The Amsterdam, marking a return to the original Skinny Lister sound.
Written about the famous Hastings shipwreck, it’s a straight-up sea shanty which echoes the style and stomp of crowd favourite John Kanaka from debut album Forge & Flagon.
Listen to the track now HERE.
Formed in London in 2009, Skinny Lister have built a growing following with their boisterous and heartfelt indie-folk-punk.
They have released four studio albums to date: Forge & Flagon (2012), Down On Deptford Broadway (2014), The Devil, The Heart & The Fight (2016) and The Story Is…(2019).
Quiet year
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, 2020 was due to be a quiet year for then anyway, as singer Lorna Thomas was pregnant, and gave birth to a daughter in March that year.
In December the band released a video on YouTube for a new single, Shout it Out, and two more have followed this year – the ska-tinged Bavaria Area and now Damn the Amsterdam.
As a band who were singing sea shanties long before TikTok made it trendy, Damn The Amsterdam returns to the original rootsy Skinny Lister sound.
Guest harmonies come courtesy of folk pin-ups The Longest Johns, who will be joining them on their UK headline tour throughout November and December.
Written over the past 18 months, A Matter Of Life & Love is a collection of true stories and feelings that have really ‘mattered’ to the six-piece.
From tour tales of being pulled over by Bavarian police to airport drinking songs, it’s their most personal record yet.
Centrepiece and title-track A Matter Of Life & Love is a poignant reminder to recognise the moments in life that really matter.
“It’s a sentiment likely borne out of those months of enforced limited social contact endured over the past few months,” reflects frontman Dan Heptinstall.
Further adventures
Heptinstall adds: “It’s great to have made it to album number five. We can’t wait to see what further adventures lay in store for us as we get it out there on the road and into the world!
“This has been a very liberating experience, not only allowing us to employ all that we’ve learnt from the top producers of our previous four albums, but also truly realise our own vision of the tracks. We’re very proud of the results.”
You can pre-order A Matter Of Life & Love HERE. For a full list of forthcoming live dates, click HERE.
