The Swedish quintet Francis has been active on the Swedish indie scene for almost a decade now, slowly but surely making their mark as one of the most interesting Swedish indie bands around. Following the acclaimed This Must Be Blood EP in 2012 and tours with The Tallest Man on Earth, Francis is now getting ready to release their long-awaited, second full-length and international debut album Marathon, co-produced by the band and Nicolas Vernhes (Daughter, The War on Drugs, Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Björk, Dirty Projectors, etc.)
Francis was originally formed back in 2006 as a punk-y interpretation of American folk (think a mixture of Tom Waits and Patti Smith), out of the local DIY scene in their hometown of Mora, in the Dalarna region of Sweden. Now based in Falun, only vocalist Petra Mases and drummer Petter Nygårdh remains from the early days, later joined by guitarist Jerker Krumlinde, bassist Paulina Mellkvist and Oskar Bond on keyboard. Francis self-released their debut album Lekomberg, We Were Kin in 2011, and followed it with the This Must Be Blood EP the year after. Marathon will be the first release from the current incarnation of the band.