Following the release of his second album, The Cardiac Hotel, which is out now through Xtra Mile Recordings (WW) and Grand Hotel Van Cleef (GSA), The Lion And The Wolf will take to the road with Kevin Devine in two weekstime.
The run of six shows also features Laura Stevenson and will see the three artists visit Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds and London.
Tickets are available now: www.livenation.co.uk / www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Speaking on the tour dates, Thomas George said, “Can’t wait to get back out on the road for my first tour of 2017. Super excited to be joining Kevin Devine and Laura Stevenson, two acts who I really look up to and it will be a privilege to play on the same bill as them each night.”
Since quitting the kind of life lived by the rest of us in January 2014, Thomas has played over 300 shows, supporting labelmates Rob Lynch, Northcote and PJ Bond, among others, as well as appearing at Slam Dunk, Isle of Wight Festival, 2000trees, Blissfields, Fest and Hevy. He released his debut album ‘Symptoms’ late 2014, a full-band affair crafted from analogue sounds. Comparisons to Elliot Smith and Simon & Garfunkel followed, as well as more shows and more opportunities to revel in community and friendship.
Second album, The Cardiac Hotel was expedited and creatively driven by Thomas’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 ‘My Fathers Eyes’. The reverb weight blurring the edges, seemingly disintegrating Thomas’s voice, brings pathos to the urgent, searing sounds that brew underneath.
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’ll never be alone with The Lion and the Wolf, and you’ll never have to feel that way now you’re part of the pride and pack.
The Lion And The Wolf on tour:
29 Jan 2017 – Bristol, Thekla
30 Jan 2017 – Nottingham, Bodega
31 Jan 2017 – Manchester, Deaf Institute
01 Feb 2017 – Glasgow, Stereo
02 Feb 2017 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
03 Feb 2017 – London, The Dome
08 Feb 2017 – Tokyo
09 Feb 2017 – Kyoto
10 Feb 2017 – Osaka
11 Feb 2017 – Nagoya
12 Feb 2017 – Tokyo