The Border Surrender have been around since their 2009 debut EP Blood in the Snow, but it’s only now – following the release of their The Lean Season EP and several gigs with London promoters Communion – that their music is beginning to attract the fan base they deserves.
Based in North London, the band are currently signed to Smoky Carrot Records, and have enjoyed airplay from the likes of Dermot O’Leary and Tom Robinson in the past. Consisting of Keith Austin (vocals & guitar), Simon Sheilds (vocals, guitar, bass guitar & mandolin), Johnny Manning (keyboards, melodica, glockenspiel & accordion) and Mark Austin (drums & vocals) – the four piece create pop music infused with funk and bluegrass. The kind of thing you’d expect from The Rumble Strips if they’d ever been any good, or Vincent Vincent and The Villians if they’d embraced a more commercial local scene. Not to be scoffed at, The Border Surrender could genuinely find fame off the back of a TV advert – that’s the kind of accessible, jingle jangle friendly music they make.
Their previous releases, including the beforementioned debut EP and their single “Oh Mary”, are available from iTunes, or you can see the video for “If You Pass Me By”, taken from The Lean Season, below.
