No sooner had we announced that Tom George aka The Lion and the Wolf, is being represented by the Coda music agency, we now hear that he’s also signed to record label, Xtra Mile Recordings.
Lee Jackson of Wall of Sound PR told OnTheWight that Xtra Mile’s first contact with The Lion and the Wolf was back in 2014 as Rob Lynch’s choice for Xtra Mile High Club Vol.5: Smokin’ (Signed vs Unsigned), where XMR artists chose their favourite unsigned acts to join them on this huge label compilation. Impressed by his DIY outlook and mesmeric songs, XMR followed Tom’s journey up to this point.
“A wholly autumnal, acoustic-led slice of melancholy…one of the UK’s most promising singer-songwriters.” – Rock Sound
The Cardiac Hotel
Xtra Mile will release his second album, The Cardiac Hotel, on 7 October 2016.
Lee said,
“Second album The Cardiac Hotel was expedited and creatively driven by Tom’s dad getting sick, the songs pouring forth as they tend to do when a loved one’s future is uncertain. It’s hard not to listen to The Lion and the Wolf’s second album and not feel a little of that seismic shift yourself.
“If you don’t feel it in the billowing organ chord that begins ‘Don’t Fail Me Now’, then it’ll fill you on ‘Myfatherseyes’. The reverb weight blurring the edges, seemingly disintegrating Tom’s voice, brings pathos to the urgent, searing sounds that brew underneath.”
He went on to add,
“Violins, brass and lyrics that break upon the softest ears and hearts like waves, particularly on ‘The Pinching Point’ (“All the time struggled to breathe, now she doesn’t have to grieve at the finish line”), while pianos and seething strings seem to bellow over the gentle finger picking and clicking drums on closer ‘Find the Time’.
“It feels fragile while wrapping itself in strength of heart, a certain courage needed to bare the soul or strip down to honesty. The Cardiac Hotel is still warm though, never feeling disconnected from the listener, probably because of the lack of digital interference. And that’s important because The Lion and the Wolf is all about intimacy and understanding.”
You can pre-order your copy of the album through Xtra Mile Recordings or through iTunes
“Gentle vocals and lilting drive call to mind Elliot Smith and Simon and Garfunkel” – The Independent
Check out the lyric video to ‘Find The Time’ here:
