Prior to the commencement of their UK tour, The Boxer Rebellion will celebrate the physical release of their highly-acclaimed album UNION with a series of free shows and signing sessions at HMV stores, including a performance at hmv’s flagship Oxford Street store on 13 September, 2009 which will be introduced by Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman.

After each 30-minute show, the band will remain in the store to meet fans and sign advance copies of UNION.

HMV 2009 shows and signings:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

11 September – hmv Dublin, Grafton Street – 5pm
13 September – hmv London, Oxford Street – 1pm
14 September – hmv Manchester, Market Street – 5pm
15 September – hmv Newcastle, Northumberland Street – 5pm
17 September – hmv Nottingham, Wheelergate – 5pm
18 September – hmv Bristol, Broadgate – 5pm

The Boxer Rebellion shot to fame earlier this year when the digital version of their album UNION went Top 5 on both iTunes UK and US Album Charts with 48 hours, resulting in the band entering the Top 100 US Billboard Album Charts with no label backing whatsoever.

UNION also knocked My Morning Jacket off the iTunes US Alternative Albums No.1 that week, and at one point was outselling the likes of Coldplay and Kings of Leon. The CD version of the album is being manufactured and promoted in partnership with hmv, marking a ground-breaking collaboration between an artist and retailer.

The Boxer Rebellion have infamously suffered a stop-start career at the hands of a volatile music industry. The aptly-titled and self-produced UNION is the triumphant result of what can be achieved when ability, commitment and relentless drive converge towards a shared, immovable goal.

From the opening assault of “Flashing Red Light Means Go” through the insistent “Spitting Fire” to the redemptive closer “Silent Movie”, the overriding effect of UNION is of going through an emotional storm and arriving replenished on the other side.

UNION will be on sale at hmv and Fopp stores across the country, as well as in selected independent retailers. The CD version of the album includes bonus tracks as well as exclusive interviews, track-by-track commentary, and filmed lessons from the band, powered by Opendisc technology.

Buy Music:

The Boxer Rebellion on amazon.com

The Boxer Rebellion on amazon.co.uk

For more information about Boxer Rebellion, go to:

The Boxer Rebellion MySpace

The Boxer Rebellion Official Website

The Boxer Rebellion have today announced a groundbreaking collaboration with HMV, which will see the retailer act as a strategic partner for their second album UNION.

In the first deal of its kind, HMV will advance the costs of the album and give it promotional support, in exchange for a share of the revenues. The partnership allows The Boxer Rebellion to remain proudly independent, and continue to find innovative ways to engage with their fans.

‘Union’ will be released on CD on 14 September, 2009 in HMV and selected independent retailers, and can also be pre-ordered via hmv.com and other online stores in both physical and digital formats. The release will be supported with a week of live in-store performances and album signings at HMV stores around the country, including the flagship Oxford Circus store.

The Boxer Rebellion will also commence a UK tour on 22 September, for which HMV will have an exclusive window on ticket sales.

Tickets go on sale at hmv.com on 23 July, 2009, and will also be available to fans as part of a special album bundle for just £15 (including the ticket’s booking fee).

The band most recently performed on Glastonbury’s Other Stage and will also be playing thelondonpaper’s Headliners Festival on 17th September.

Since being signed on the back of an explosive Glastonbury performance in 2003, The Boxer Rebellion have infamously suffered a stop-start career at the hands of a volatile music industry. The aptly-titled and self-produced ‘Union’ is the triumphant result of what can be achieved when ability, commitment and relentless drive converge towards a shared, immovable goal.

From the opening assault of “Flashing Red Light Means Go” through the insistent “Spitting Fire” to the redemptive closer “Silent Movie”, the overriding effect of ‘Union’ is of going through an emotional storm and arriving replenished on the other side.

‘Union’ follows the band’s 2005 debut LP EXITS on Alan McGee’s Poptones/Mercury imprint. NME proclaimed at the time, ‘This band can alter your life.’ Kerrang! wrote, ‘If you’re crying out for substance in music, The Boxer Rebellion are here to soothe your soul,’ and both The Fly and MusicOMH dubbed the album ‘flawless’.

As their label imploded, and singer Nathan Nicholson found himself critically ill on a life-support machine, EXITS took on a life of its own, passed quietly from person to person until it had amassed an army of feverishly devoted fans.

Following Nicholson’s difficult but eventual recovery the band continued to perform live, and it was at these decisive shows – always underpinned by new songs well before they could ever be recorded – that the spirit of a new album came into being.

Ultimately taking matters into their own hands, The Boxer Rebellion self-released ‘Union’ through iTunes on 13 January 2009, with lead track “Evacuate” becoming the first ever global iTunes Single of the Week and amassing an astonishing 560,000 downloads in seven days.

‘Union’ went Top 5 on both iTunes US and UK Albums Charts within 48 hours, resulting in The Boxer Rebellion becoming the first unsigned band to break into the Billboard Top 100 Albums Chart on a digital-only release.

‘Union’ also knocked My Morning Jacket off the iTunes US Alternative Albums No.1 that week, and at one point was outselling the likes of Coldplay and Kings of Leon.

The album release will be preceded by a limited-edition double A-side single, “Semi-Automatic/Flashing Red Light Means Go”, released 7th September on 10″ vinyl picture disc. Only 500 copies will be pressed.

Buy Music:

The Boxer Rebellion on amazon.com

The Boxer Rebellion on amazon.co.uk

For more information, go to:

The Boxer Rebellion MySpace

The Boxer Rebellion Official Website

Four years since the birth of their magnificent debut album, ‘Exits’, The Boxer Rebellion digitally release their much-anticipated, self-produced, sophomore record, ‘Union’, on January 11, 2009.

The Boxer Rebellion on amazon.com

The Boxer Rebellion on amazon.co.uk

In an unprecedented move, iTunes have awarded the band a “Global Single of the Week” spot on January 13th for the track “Evacuate”, which will run across every iTunes store on the planet.

Mixed by Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Feeder) and mastered by Kevin Metcalfe (U2, Prodigy), ‘Union’ has also been awarded the Editor’s Choice album slot by iTunes US which will see it receive main page and front page (Rock/Alt) coverage.

Both ‘Union’ and ‘Exits’ will be available at an introductory price during their first two weeks of release (physical release dates forthcoming).

THE PAST:

Formed in London through a chance meeting between Tennessee native Nathan Nicholson (vocals/guitar) and Australian Todd Howe (guitar), the line-up was made complete with college friends Piers Hewitt on drums and Adam Harrison on bass. Following the release of an acclaimed debut EP in 2003, and on the eve of a potentially career-breaking tour with The Killers, Nicholson found himself deftly ill and on life-support, putting the band on indefinite hold.

Post-recovery, the band released limited copies of ‘Exits’, their debut album in 2005 to a rapturous response: Kerrang magazine proclaimed, “If you’re crying out for substance in your music, The Boxer Rebellion are here to soothe your soul,” while the NME stated, “This band can alter your life.” Both The Fly magazine and MusicOMH considered the album “flawless.”

THE PRESENT:

In ‘Union’, The Boxer Rebellion have produced a follow-up of epic proportions that somehow manages to surpass the vertiginous ambitions of its predecessor. While retaining the uniquely charged live sound that has won them a feverishly devoted following throughout Europe, ‘Union’ sees the band taking their already lofty ambitions to subliminal levels. From the tribal-drum explosion of opener ‘Flashing Red Light Means Go’, through the wintry atmospherics of enigmatic ‘The Gospel Of Goro Adachi’ to live favourites ‘Evacuate’ and ‘Semi-Automatic’, ‘Union’ is an album that transcends convention in a seismic blast of unfettered invention.

Listen to “Evacuate” from ‘Union’ on imeem

Currently being championed by KCRW Music Director and host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, Jason Bentley, ‘Union’ will be serviced nationwide to non-commercial and college radio stations in the coming weeks.

The band is currently preparing their Spring ‘09 tour schedule – dates soon to be released.

“The Boxer Rebellion’s albums are completely non-disposable bodies of work – perfectly balanced in exemplary song-writing, epic performances, and wide-ranging creativity that reward the listener time and time again.” – Stephen Brolan, The Fly

Photo credit: Tessa Angus

Listen to ‘Union’ at ReverbNation

The Boxer Rebellion MySpace
The Boxer Rebellion Official Website