Quiet Quiet Band to support Emmy the Great

Hey all,

Just a quick note to say, newest members of the Broken Tail roster, Quiet Quiet Band, are in full force tonight in Reading at Sub89 in support of Emmy The Great. Doors are at 7pm, and tickets are still available on the door at 12.50.

We'd put a pound sign in there, but we're in the States where pound signs do not exist.

Have some dollar signs instead.
$$$$$$$

Hey you! Watch the video for Oxygen Thief's new single?

Taken from the debut album from Oxygen Thief, Destroy It Yourself, out now on Broken Tail Records on CD and digital download.

'Mestle & Portar' is also available for download from http://www.oxygenthiefmusic.com/ in a variety of ways, alongside a cover of M.I.A's 'Paper Planes' and a remix of 'Terry Nutkins Salute'.

Flatlands: Quiet Quiet Band release debut single this April

Here at perpetually-lazy DIY label Broken Tail Records, we don't get out of bed and release records for just anyone. We do, however, get out of bed for Quiet Quiet Band.

Originally the solo project of Paul Smith, he of Reading's rock never-rans Heartwear Process, Quiet Quiet Band grew from an initial idea of basic solo home recordings of whisper-quiet songs with a revolving roster of backing musicians into an intense six-piece collective, of which 'Flatlands' is the first true taster. We're not quite sure exactly how it evolved in such a way, and we're not sure that Smith is either, but after roping in a couple of previous bandmates, some work colleagues and a former death metal bassist, the QQB project was eventually transformed from a collection of hissing tape demos to rousing folk songs.

In advance of a debut album due out at the tail end of 2012, this initial recording of 'Flatlands' is a step away from the Bad Seeds influence of their previous incarnations, drawing strengths instead from the likes of 16 Horsepower, Sparklehorse and Robert Wyatt amongst others. It goes beyond that though: three and four part harmonies come as standard, occasionally breaking down into something more chaotic, or perhaps a slew of ever-building choruses peaking into some intense viola wig-out.

If that's not the first time you've read the phrase “viola wig-out” this week, the music world is in trouble.

But this isn't the am-dram, bright-eyed epic pop of Arcade Fire, and it packs more punch (for us) than the likes of Fleet Foxes. This sound has probably seen too many Irish drinking songs, or harks to the blues-folk storytelling drama of Johnny Flynn's circa 2008, and maybe the broken, ill-intentioned parts of every great Modest Mouse song more than it does to any of the other folk collectives of recent years, and whilst 'Flatlands' is probably the most morally-peaceful offering possible for a band whose love songs normally consist of someone's demise, even that's promptly followed by a lounging tale of icy death (see b-side 'Fingers').

With a powerful live show honed over the past couple of years including recent supports to Young Knives and Emmy the Great, QQB are armed well for 2012. Expect murder ballads.

Praise for Quiet Quiet Band:

“.. utterly piss on any supposed competition.. [a] frenzied blend of modern folk that you wouldn’t bet against in a punch-up with the blackest of Swedish death metal bands”

-         Rambliks

“powerful, neatly constructed harmonies and sassy country-folk.. Are they quiet? Absolutely not. Do your ears need to be exposed to them immediately? Definitely.”

-         Reading Chronicle

Tonight! Oxygen Thief on 6Music.

Just a quick note. Sexy Bristolian noise machine Oxygen Thief joins Tom Robinson on his 6Music show tonight (Saturday night/technically Sunday morning) at 1am. Listen in!

OT releases free single 'Mestle & Portar' on March 5th, taken from his debut album Destroy It Yourself out now on Broken Tail Records.

Buy the CD now from Amazon

Oxygen Thief lifts a free single from 'Destroy It Yourself'; tours

• Artist: Oxygen Thief
• Title: Mestle and Portar
• Format: digital download
• Released: Monday 5^th March 2012

Nearly a year on from his debut album Destroy It Yourself, Bristol's favourite (only?) acoustic metalhead returns with a headline tour and free single this March.

BAM! Just when you thought it was safe to emerge from the shadows without a long-haired Bristolian in brightly-coloured DMs shouting quotes from The Wire at you (“you can't lose if you don't play”), Oxygen Thief lifts a fresh single from his acclaimed 2011 debut, Destroy It Yourself.

Arguably the album highlight, 'Mestle and Portar' is typical of Destroy It Yourself's brash staccato sound; the frontline of heavy-hit guitars filed to a point alongside part-spoken part-sung part-yelled vocals that leave critics struggling for direct comparison. Hard rock played out on an acoustic guitar, this confident rarely-heard sound earned him a regular slot at 2000Trees festival and support to Hold Your Horse Is, Chris T-T, [Placebo side-project] Planes, and Ben Marwood alongside his numerous headline shows.

Catch Oxygen Thief stomping around the following venues:

MARCH

1 LEEDS Royal Park Cellars
2 MANCHESTER The Garrett
3 BIRMINGHAM The Brighthouse
4 BRISTOL The Mother's Ruin
7 DEVIZES The Bell
8 BATH Green Park Tavern
9 OXFORD Port Mahon
10 LONDON Slaughtered Lamb, Clerkenwell
11 CAMBRIDGE The Cornerhouse

Praise for Destroy It Yourself:

“like a Dave Grohl solo brainstorming session”

god is in the tv

“impressive win for originality in an oversaturated musical market”

the 405

“an album that transcends genre.. adopted by punks, indie kids and metalheads alike”

moon and back

.. and we're live

Despite being a record label since 2007, after Myspace we didn't ever bother with Facebook.

Then, last week, we got Twitter.

This week, we got a blog.

By next week, we'll all be prime minister.