一聽音樂網

Skint & Demoralised will be releasing their second album 'This Sporting Life' through Heist Or Hit Records on 2nd August. As part of a 2CD Bonus Edition, their previously unreleased debut 'Love, And Other Catastrophes' will also be included. The two albums provide a stark contrast in their history and production. Their debut was recorded on a major label budget in New York and London over summer 2009, with personal chefs and luxury hotels to boot. The follow-up was recorded in their home studio in Sheffield over autumn and winter 2010, whenever Matt wasn't working as a Christmas temp in HMV. Such is the nature of their story so far – in many ways you'd think that those albums were done the wrong way around! Just 9 months after forming, S&D signed to Mercury Records in 2008 when Radio 1 plays from Steve Lamacq and Colin Murray helped free downloads of their demos soar towards the 10,000 mark. Armed with being listed at #3 in Lamacq's Top 100 New Bands of 2007, they flew to New York to begin recording with legendary soul session band The Dap-Kings (who also played on Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black'). After sessions in The Daptone Studios, Brooklyn, recording was completed in RAK Studios, London. As one half of S&D – co-writing songs with lyricist/front-man Matt Abbott – MiNI dOG was given the role of producer and the act retained full creative control on their record. The sound fuses Abbott's spoken word poetry with Northern Soul-inspired grooves and an abundance of catchy melodies and hooks. Lyrically, he tells tales of love and life as he saw it – the painstakingly honest diary of a lad in his late-teens, with his heart on his sleeve and tongue tucked firmly in his cheek. Debut single 'The Thrill of Thirty Seconds' was released in November 2008 on indie label Another Music = Another Kitchen and all 500 copies of the limited edition 7" sold-out on pre-order. Colin Murray made the track his 'Record of the Week' on Radio 1 and the band were hotly-tipped heading into 2009. A headline tour of the UK was supported by second single 'This Song Is Definitely Not About You', before airplay success with summer smash 'Red Lipstick' made the band a huge hit on the major festival circuit. Despite having a rapidly increasing fan-base, S&D's overall performance was deemed unsatisfactory and their planned album release was pulled. The band announced that they'd split at the end of 2009, and Matt spent 2010 performing stand-up gigs – including two very successful shows at Latitude and Leeds Festival. The latter performance inspired them to start writing again, and in late 2010 they wrote and recorded second album 'This Sporting Life' in their Sheffield-based studio 6x7. The new record sees Abbott singing throughout, and musically it has a much more mature feel than its predecessor. Lyrically, Abbott has made the transition from boy to man and debut single 'The Lonely Hearts of England' (on a Double A-side with '43 Degrees', available digitally NOW) has seen the band return better than ever before.