Frank Turner and Jon Snodgrass (Photo courtesy of Xtra Mile Recordings)
Xtra Mile Recordings and songwriters Frank Turner and Jon Snodgrass are excited to present “The Fleas,” the latest track to be lifted from the Friday, Nov. 13 release of the duo’s new collaborative album, Buddies II: Still Buddies.
“There is nothing wrong with the planet, the planet is fine… the people are f***ed,” said the late George Carlin in one of his most famous jokes. As the apocalypse looms, Frank and Jon reflect on Carlin’s classic “Saving The Planet” with the timely “The Fleas.” Released at a time of troubles that, some 12 years after Carlin’s passing, he could never have foreseen, the track pauses for thought on the pandemic, isolation, collapse, and each individual’s place within that.
Frank said, “Lockdown has been such a blow to the music industry, and such a drag that we were all looking for things to do. Jon and I have been buddies a long time, and I noticed the 10-year anniversary of our collaborative album was coming up. Technology is such that we were able to reprise the writing method remotely, and indeed it turns out we’ve got a lot better at it in the intervening decade. I’m really, really proud of the record.”
Watch the official music video for “The Fleas” by Frank Turner and Jon Snodgrass:
Ten years ago, Frank Turner and Jon Snodgrass hung out, drank whisky and wrote & recorded an album together called Buddies — a lighthearted hang between friends that became a hit with fans of both artists. Fast forward a decade and the pair are still buddies, so they decided to write a follow-up. As with the original, Buddies II: Still Buddies was written in just one day, although this time, however, Frank and Jon had to do it over the Internet due to lockdown.
With more time on their hands than usual, they were able to flesh out the album, musically, and recruit other buddies — Stephen Egerton (Descendents/ALL) on drums and Todd Beene (Lucero, Chuck Ragan, Glossary) on pedal steel — for added instrumentation. The result is a funny, warm and at times poignant album that’s part talk show, part music.