The self titled debut album.
Now available on Snowbird Records at iTunes, amazon and 250 ltd edition 180g vinyl at bandcamp
Now available on Snowbird Records at iTunes, amazon and 250 ltd edition 180g vinyl at bandcamp
It's often remarked that we are all products of our environment. So when 3 piece One Mile An Hour began to piece together their debut album, they were only ever going to achieve the result they wanted by constructing their own studio. A space built at the top of a house, overlooking the sea on the south coast of England, became the scene for the recording of this complex, introverted outsider-folk record.
Mastered by John Dent (John Martyn, Nick Drake, PJ Harvey's Mercury Prize Winning "Let England Shake"), One Mile An Hour chose to self-produce the album in order to capture the record's recurring themes, which most notably come in the form of the outdoors and nature. Things used, wasted, squandered and lost sit alongside more hopeful ideas of escape and salvation, all forming part of one all-encompassing continual idea of humanity, our relationships and love.
Vocalist Jeff Kightly covers some seemingly bleak ground at times; "for open are the arms from which hope can unfold...Some'll see stone where another knows gold..." (In Return), "Magpie is faking that my ink is running dry when the black eyed dog calls" (Magpie Song). Outdoor themes became integral following the bands' immersion in Scandinavian landscape and literature – the form and structure rather the content itself. Trouble's Roots references Tove Jansson's 'The Summer Book', ("In my boat just what I need") while In Return was influenced by the backdrops of Finnish folk tales.
One Mile An Hour is an album oozing ideas and ambition. It's cinematic yet intimate. Busy yet controlled. Opening track Sunken Ships sets a breezy tone, Jeff's gorgeous falsetto curling tightly around understated guitar-play, while You Are On Beach aligns deft riffing with melancholy verses and emotive chord progressions. Elsewhere, tracks are allowed to breathe and weave but surge forward, focused on their ultimate resolution (the 10 minute album closer, Nine Eight). The band's musical fluency, drive and intricacy make the whole record feel less a result of direct influence by other artists, and more like a conversation between the likes of Pentangle, Bonnie Prince Billy, The Grateful Dead, John Martyn, The Band, CSN&Y – in which One Mile An Hour are the focus of the conversation.
Mastered by John Dent (John Martyn, Nick Drake, PJ Harvey's Mercury Prize Winning "Let England Shake"), One Mile An Hour chose to self-produce the album in order to capture the record's recurring themes, which most notably come in the form of the outdoors and nature. Things used, wasted, squandered and lost sit alongside more hopeful ideas of escape and salvation, all forming part of one all-encompassing continual idea of humanity, our relationships and love.
Vocalist Jeff Kightly covers some seemingly bleak ground at times; "for open are the arms from which hope can unfold...Some'll see stone where another knows gold..." (In Return), "Magpie is faking that my ink is running dry when the black eyed dog calls" (Magpie Song). Outdoor themes became integral following the bands' immersion in Scandinavian landscape and literature – the form and structure rather the content itself. Trouble's Roots references Tove Jansson's 'The Summer Book', ("In my boat just what I need") while In Return was influenced by the backdrops of Finnish folk tales.
One Mile An Hour is an album oozing ideas and ambition. It's cinematic yet intimate. Busy yet controlled. Opening track Sunken Ships sets a breezy tone, Jeff's gorgeous falsetto curling tightly around understated guitar-play, while You Are On Beach aligns deft riffing with melancholy verses and emotive chord progressions. Elsewhere, tracks are allowed to breathe and weave but surge forward, focused on their ultimate resolution (the 10 minute album closer, Nine Eight). The band's musical fluency, drive and intricacy make the whole record feel less a result of direct influence by other artists, and more like a conversation between the likes of Pentangle, Bonnie Prince Billy, The Grateful Dead, John Martyn, The Band, CSN&Y – in which One Mile An Hour are the focus of the conversation.
'Once in a while you put on an album from an unknown band and from the outset it has that certain something that makes you sit up and really listen.'
Guitar Techniques
'Achingly beautiful ... This is a sophisticated and well-wrought album'
No Depression c/o hyperbolium.com
'The album delivers on so many fronts and the songwriting and musicianship scream innovation and ambition in equal amounts.'
Fatea
'I'd swear I was listening to a classic album from the past. A remarkable debut.'
Folk Radio
'It’s dark, it’s light, it’s beautiful ... folk music with subtle muscle'
nowthissound.com
'One Mile an Hour truly is an amazing record'
indiebikesandbeer.com
'There's an earthy, poetic nature to the lyrical content of One Mile an Hour'
bucketfullofnails.com
'folk based songs that feel like medicine for the heart'
americanpancake.com
'innovative and unique ... an amazing debut album'
stateinthereal.com
'Just the right pace to ease the mind and soothe the senses.'
R2
'there is a uniqueness about this album that sets it apart from others'
musicalmagnificence
'This eponymously titled debut could easily sit within classic nu-folk collections of recent years.'
mudkiss.com
'There have been a load of great folk records released this year but none were as unexpectedly joyful as this supremely assured debut.'
The Music Fix
'The perfect album to have with you when you just need to escape to somewhere better'
roomthirteen.com
'airy, panoramic, beautiful, unusual folk music ... it's a singular, magnificent record from beginning to end.'
muruch.com
'At once grand and yet intimate.'
Penny Black Music
'This self titled album from One Mile An Hour is a sure fire contender for debut album of the year.'
A Musical Priority
Guitar Techniques
'Achingly beautiful ... This is a sophisticated and well-wrought album'
No Depression c/o hyperbolium.com
'The album delivers on so many fronts and the songwriting and musicianship scream innovation and ambition in equal amounts.'
Fatea
'I'd swear I was listening to a classic album from the past. A remarkable debut.'
Folk Radio
'It’s dark, it’s light, it’s beautiful ... folk music with subtle muscle'
nowthissound.com
'One Mile an Hour truly is an amazing record'
indiebikesandbeer.com
'There's an earthy, poetic nature to the lyrical content of One Mile an Hour'
bucketfullofnails.com
'folk based songs that feel like medicine for the heart'
americanpancake.com
'innovative and unique ... an amazing debut album'
stateinthereal.com
'Just the right pace to ease the mind and soothe the senses.'
R2
'there is a uniqueness about this album that sets it apart from others'
musicalmagnificence
'This eponymously titled debut could easily sit within classic nu-folk collections of recent years.'
mudkiss.com
'There have been a load of great folk records released this year but none were as unexpectedly joyful as this supremely assured debut.'
The Music Fix
'The perfect album to have with you when you just need to escape to somewhere better'
roomthirteen.com
'airy, panoramic, beautiful, unusual folk music ... it's a singular, magnificent record from beginning to end.'
muruch.com
'At once grand and yet intimate.'
Penny Black Music
'This self titled album from One Mile An Hour is a sure fire contender for debut album of the year.'
A Musical Priority
The album illustration was drawn by Tom Neely.
11th May
FRANCE, Lyon: Le Clacson (Ouillins)
more information
29th May
GERMANY, Nürnberg: Musikzentrale
more information
FRANCE, Lyon: Le Clacson (Ouillins)
more information
29th May
GERMANY, Nürnberg: Musikzentrale
more information
For all label enquiries please contact:
enquiries@snowbirdrecords.com
For all band enquiries please contact:
info@onemileanhour.com
enquiries@snowbirdrecords.com
For all band enquiries please contact:
info@onemileanhour.com
