AS ABOVE, SO BELOW: UK PUNKS ‘THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS’ REIMAGINE THE STATIC

EP REVIEW | THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS – BELOW THE STATIC by Craig Harston 4/5

Last year, Brighton band The Bar Stool Preachers put out one of the best punk albums of the year with their third album, Above The Static. The album marked a slight departure from their usual sound but it was still in keeping with the spirit of what the band is all about. Below The Static finds the band revisiting six songs from Above The Static and reimagining them in a variety of forms.

Your mileage here may depend on how you feel about alternate versions of songs – nothing here is a ‘remix’ but punk rock songs tend to do fairly well as live or acoustic versions, some of which can be found here. Opener ‘Doorstep’ is a strings version of the original song and it works pretty well compared to the industrial sounding original and features vocals from Debbie Clare alongside singer T.J. McFaull. Next up is a piano ballad version of the excellent ‘Call Me On The Way Home’, with the band stating this version “really drives home the message of loneliness and the need for people to stick up for one another. Sometimes a song’s message doesn’t need all the trimmings and five guitar lines”. Alongside the low key piano it features soaring strings when the song builds to it’s crescendo.

The EP features three acoustic tracks, but all are very different. ‘Flatlined’ is a stripped back campfire version of the original song and includes guest vocals from Jennie Moloney. ‘All Turned Blue’ takes a more traditional approach to an acoustic song and includes bass, female vocals accompanying McFaull for the verses and gang vocals to back them up The bridge features an excellent guitar solo and the opening of the song verges on trolling before the “woah-oh-oh-oh-ohh’s” eventually kick in! The EP closer is arguably the best track and where The Bar Stool Preachers seem to be having the most fun. It sounds like a live jamming session in a room with all their friends, with gang vocals responding to McFaull with “Hey! Don’t die today”, including a tambourine and clapping for the beat. Elsewhere, ‘Laptop’ gets the country treatment, all banjo’s, guitars and a bouncy tune.

It’s clear The Bar Stool Preachers are very proud of their latest album and they’ve given the six songs featured here the love and attention they deserve in their alternate versions – they’ve not just knocked out any old crap and called it a day. Above The Static is absolutely worth checking out if you’ve never given BSP a go before but Below The Static is also a good place to start.

Below The Static releases on 13th September via Pure Noise Records and is available to purchase on vinyl and CD. The Bar Stool Preachers will be embarking on a short acoustic UK tour this September in support of the EP.

FULL LIVE DATES CAN BE FOUND HERE

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Craig Harston

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