Following a sold-out show at The Lexington in London on July 31st and an appearance at the Cambridge Folk Festival the following day, James Walbourne and Kami Thompson, aka The Rails, head out on a UK headline tour in October.
Their latest album, ‘Cancel the Sun’ is out on the 16th of August and is the first of their three albums to feature co-writes by the duo. It follows sophomore release ‘Other People’ which came out in 2017 and which Americana UK described as performing “that tricky alchemy of turning the at times bleak aspect of the human experience into irresistible pop hooks and accessible melodies”.
New album, ‘Cancel the Sun’ was produced by Stephen Street, best known for his work with The Smiths and Blur. Talking about how they came to work with the esteemed producer, Kami Thompson said: “We’d been knocking some names around. On the last record I kept thinking about Graham Coxon’s solo records, and that in your face guitar. We unravelled the thread of Stephen’s discography and realised we would absolutely love to work with him. I loved that there was no fucking around: get there in the morning, work solidly, and then go home knackered. He was involved in every little element of the sound.”
‘Cancel the Sun’ is more evolution than revolution – somewhat harder and rockier in places – but the newer sound isn’t to the detriment of The Rails’ trademark vocal harmonies and melodies.
The Rails have a number of in-store record appearances and a performance at the Levellers’ independent musical festival later this month. Thereafter, they have dates in the US before returning to the UK in October.
The Rails Tour Dates:
Fri 16 Aug – BRISTOL, Rough Trade,
Sat 17 Aug – LONDON, Rough Trade East
Sat 17 Aug – NOTTINGHAM, Rough Trade
Sun 18 Aug – DEVON, Beautiful Days Festival
Sun 20 Oct – MANCHESTER, The Deaf Institute
Mon 21 Oct – GLASGOW, King Tuts
Tue 22 Oct – NEWCASTLE, The Cluny
Wed 23 Oct – LIVERPOOL, Phase One
Thu 24 Oct – HEBDEN BRIDGE, Trades Club
Fri 25 Oct – WINCHESTER, The Railway Inn
Sun 27 Oct – BIRMINGHAM, Hare And Hounds
Mon 28 Oct – BRISTOL, Louisiana
Tue 29 Oct – LONDON, Oslo
‘Cancel the Sun’ is released on the 16th of August on the Thirty Tigers label and you can hear the latest single from the album below:
