Bishopskin

“Their music has a knack for making the listener feel part of something bigger than themselves...unexpected, immersive, and utterly brilliant." DIY 

"Transcending eras and offering their unique blend of Old England aesthetics with the primal, universal language of sound," So Young Magazine
"An ethereal pilgrimage, an escape to a mythic, Blakean England, interwoven with threads of folk revivalism and avant-garde artistry." METAL

Ahead of the band's career-topping headline show at Hackney's Moth Club next week, London avant-folk collective Bishopskin return with new single 'Old Sock' - out today (16th)

Delving into themes of spiritual fatigue, circular journeys, and the surreal interplay of human frailty and divine power. the song’s evocative imagery blends frontman Tiger Nicholson's signature lyrical depth with the band’s hallmark sound: a potent mix of pastoral English folk, bluesy lamentations, and spiritual fervor

Recorded alongside the band's own James Donovan in Hastings at at the home studio of the renowned jazz trumpeteer James McMillan (James Brown, Van Morrison, Amy Winehouse) - he also plays trumpet on the track - Tiger describes the childhood  illustration of Christ sleeping uncomfortably on a coil of rope that inspired the track:

“What is this song about ?...Christ probably fell asleep on a bag of rope before he calmed the storm. I had a leather bound illustrated bible as a boy that had a picture of him sleeping on a roll of rope, it looked uncomfortable and if one were to row a boat with one finger it would be unlikely to move at all! But if the waters were very calm, I mean miraculously still, the boat might just go around and around and around and around.”

More about Bishopskin

As a group who sing their ‘prayers to the wind’, exalt the Virgin Mary, tell of "old man England on the moor" and rework 14th Century Latin Church hymns, Bishopskin’s very existence is revolt against modernity, a call to spirituality, an escapist sojourn into the idyllic fantasies of a quaint, mythologised, Blakean England via the modes of folk revivalism and the avant-garde.

Founded by James Donovan (formerly of HMLTD), and visual artist Tiger Nicholson in 2020, the aesthetic of ‘old England’ - it's landscapes, the "deep artistic roots" of it's pre-reformation Catholic traditions, unequivocally permeates every nerve and neuron of their debut album, Babble. Mingling English Folk revivalism, 19th century Romanticism and Blakean spirituality - with a punkish flair that holds its birthplace and spiritiual home at the Brixton Windmill - 'Babble' showcases the group's idiosyncratic grasp of unpredictable, exquisite arrangements and gasping melodic beauties.

Released in 2023, debut album Babble won acclaim across the independent press, with So Young, Rough Trade, DIY, METAL, Clunk, Still Listening, Hard of Hearing, Backseat Mafia and Hideous Mag, all offering their support. 

Fostering a reputation for eccentric yet absorbing live performances, the band's Moth Club Headline on January 24th marks the biggest show to date, following their sold-out Lexington performance last sprin