London-based independent powerhouse punk/rock label Xtra Mile Recordings and English folk-punks Skinny Lister are excited to present the music video for ‘Company Of The Bar,’ the latest single to be lifted from the Friday, October 20th release of the band’s sixth studio LP titled ‘Shanty Punk.’
A song built for the rugged road, ‘Company Of The Bar’ fuses three themes that have loomed large throughout Skinny Lister’s output: drinking, traveling, and the sea. It combines these into one driving, no-nonsense celebration of the virtues of hanging out down the pub with mates and loved ones. The lively video shot in the band’s old boozer — a garden shed that has been converted into a traditional pub complete with tankards, pumps, a wood burner, dart board, horse brasses, and all other kinds of trinkets called The Forge & Flagon — captures that sentiment quite well.
“Our fondness of the place was so great that we named our debut album after it,” says frontman Daniel Heptinstall. “It’s been the venue of many great nights over the years, filled with music, good friends, and great vibes. On occasion it’s been the place to gather for a post-show after-party when gigging up Leicester way. It has a magical atmosphere and we had great fun finally getting to make a video in there – cracked a few beers, pulled out the instruments and just tried to capture the spirit and uniqueness of the place. Long live the Forge!”
Aptly capturing the energy of the Skinnies’ emphatic live show, the new single arrives as the band also announces a North American tour for October and November. Having just completed a headline tour in the UK and an extensive support tour across the US with Flogging Molly, Skinny Lister will be heading to the east coast and Canada for a run with label mates PET NEEDS and Bandaid Brigade that will begin on October 19 at Milkboy in Philadelphia, PA and culminate in an appearance on Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise from November 8-13.
In true Skinny Lister style, the band’s forthcoming album, ‘Shanty Punk,’ is a record full of drunken tales that beg to be told – like that time frontman Daniel Heptinstall got in above his head in an arm-wrestling competition in Dresden (‘Arm Wrestling In Dresden’) and the pickle the band found themselves in after hiring the wrong driver for a US Tour (‘Pittsburgh Punch Up’). Elsewhere, the LP features ‘Down On The Barrier,’ an arena-sized ripper that finds Skinny Lister worshiping at the immortal altar of live music via pogo-primed percussion, Pogues-y punk hooks, and a chorus that demands to be roared-out loud and proud.
A glorious, riotous mix of chest-thumping anthems, shanty sing-a-longs and folk/punk classics that demand to be played live, ‘Shanty Punk’ was written and recorded by Skinny Lister, mixed by Patrick Phillips and Daniel Heptinstall, and mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Frank Arkwright. A concept album that is a pure distillation of what makes the long-standing band tick, the new collection leans further into the band’s folk roots more than they’ve ventured in some years.
The follow-up to 2021’s ‘A Matter of Life & Love,’ a freewheeling record that pays homage to all the greatest things in life, ‘Shanty Punk’ aims to touch base and celebrate the essence of the band a whole – who they are now and where they’ve been – while at the same time giving it a fresh and dynamic feel. This throughline is even illustrated right down to the album artwork, which draws on the imagery most have associated with the band over the years; flagons, red shoes, boots and land rovers are all present and correct. If there’s one album Skinny Lister has made that deserves the title ‘Shanty Punk,’ this is certainly it.
‘Shanty Punk’ Tracklisting:
01. Haul & Bale
02. Unto The Breach
03. Company Of The Bar
04. Mantra
05. 13 Miles
06. Down On The Barrier
07. Arm Wrestling In Dresden
08. Pittsburgh Punch Up
09. Forge On George
10. William Harker
11. Broken, Bruised & Battered
TOUR DATES:
* with Pet Needs and Bandaid Brigade
October 19th — Milkboy — Philadelphia, PA
October 20th — Meadows — Brooklyn, NY
October 21st — Middle East — Boston, MA
October 22nd — Foufounes — Montreal, Quebec
October 24th — Lee’s Place — Toronto, Ontario
October 25th — Loving Touch — Detroit, MI
October 26th — Pyramid Scheme — Grand Rapids, MI
October 27th — Xray Arcade — Milwaukee, WI
October 28th — Beat Kitchen — Chicago, IL
October 30th — Grog Shop — Cleveland, OH
October 31st — Thunderbird — Pittsburgh, PA
November 02nd — Jammin Java — Washington, DC (without Pet Needs and Bandaid Brigade)
November 03rd — Richmond Music Hall — Richmond, VA
November 04th — Music Farm — Charleston, SC
November 05th — Masquerade Hell — Atlanta, GA
November 06th — Conduit — Orlando, FL
08th — 13th — Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise — Miami, FL