THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS Release new album ‘Above The Static’ Today
Brighton (UK) punks THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS have released their new album ‘Above The Static‘ today via Pure Noise Records. Stream to the record and order the album now – HERE.
To celebrate the release the band have released a new video for latest single ‘Don’t Die Today’.
Speaking about the new single ‘Don’t Die Today’ frontman Tom McFaull said “Solidarity! Strength! Party! All set to the biggest, fist-pumping, chest-beating, party-starting ska you’ll hear this decade! Don’t Die Today highlights some of the huge issues faced by people in the 21st century. It’s a call to arms, the start of a riot, and a reminder that people aren’t alone. Highlighting the dangers of authoritarian rule, and the rise totalitarianism/fascism in the modern world, the simple message of the song is this: The battle for the streets is on, and there will be one winner. Stick together! Freedom is a sound! Freedom starts now!”
With help from some talented friends: Kevin Bivona (The Interrupters), Ted Hutt (Dropkick Murphy’s/Flogging Molly) and Ben Hannah (Nosebleed), the band are back bringing you their latest collection of chest-pumping, fist-raising, soul-saving songs, in their unique brand of party music. The album is called ‘Above the Static’ and whilst being a beautiful collection of raucous rock and roll, dancing ska and huge heartfelt punk anthems, it’s also a lifeline to anyone else who feels like they’re drowning in static in the modern age. Described as having the “perfect blend of intelligent punk anthems and poignant, unsentimental love songs, combined with the most infectious music you’ll hear this decade”, this album and these shows are long awaited, and not something you’re gonna want to miss. With pre-order starting January 2023, there’s never been a better chance to join the Bar Stool Preachers on their meteoric rise to becoming a household name.
The twelve songs that make up THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS’ stunning third full-length, Above The Static, were only supposed to be ideas, a guide to what the actual album would and could later become. So in April 2021, together with producer Ben Hannah, the Brighton-based band set up camp at The Waterloo, a three-story pub/venue in the Northern seaside town of Blackpool, to begin the process that would lead to the process of making an album. But when they listened to ‘Flatlined’, the first song they committed to tape there, it dawned on them that it actually sounded like the finished product.
“We went in there with the idea of getting demos” says frontman Tom McFaull. “We took a recording desk and everything we could fit in the car with us because we wanted to mess around and dial in a sound. But as soon as we recorded that first song, Ben and I just looked at each other and went ‘This sounds massive enough to be the real thing.’ We were there for about two-and-a-half weeks in total. The pub was closed because of Covid, so it was just us and Fletch (the owner). We’d go to bed for a few hours, wake up, the first person up would put the coffee on and press play on whatever we’d recorded the night before. We just lived it fully. We couldn’t re-record this album if we tried.”
‘Above The Static’ truly does capture the moment which inspired it, as well as it capturing the complex, ever-evolving essence of the band that made it. Formed by McFaull and bassist Karl ‘Bungle’ Jeffery in 2014, these days THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS are completed by guitarists Tom Gibbs and Karl Smith, keyboardist Alex Hay, drummer Alex ‘Whibbs’ Whibley-Conway and most recently Ray Waters on guitars and many other instruments, all of whom are on a constant search to evolve, something equaled only by their desire to stay true to themselves. It’s that unique combination that’s at the heart of this record, one that sees the band riffing off their ska-punk roots, which also ensures they break the boundaries sonically of the punk genre. With this album, THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS want to both push through any preconceptions about the music they make, and ensure that what they do make doesn’t just fall on deaf ears.
THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS are currently on a headline tours around the UK and Europe and their first album tour of the US to celebrate the release of the album. Full dates below and tickets on sale now
See THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS at the following dates:
31st March – Cafe Central, Weinheim
1st April – Knust, Hamburg
2nd April – KufA Haus, Braunschweig
3rd April – Wild At Heart, Berlin
4th April – Chelsea, Vienna
6th April – Das Rind, Russelheim
9th April – The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool
19th April – Lost Horizon Arts Centre & Bar, Bristol
20th April – The Castle & Falcon, Birmingham
21st April – Corporation, Sheffield
26th April – The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes
27th April – Waterfront Studio, Norwich
28th April – The Engine Shed, Lincoln
29th April – Green Door Store, Brighton
30th April – Underworld, London
3rd May – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
5th May – Bannerman’s, Edinburgh
6th May – Riverside Newcastle, Newcastle
11th May – Turf Club, St Paul
12th May – Midwest Music Fest, No Name Bar, Winona
13th May – Cobra Lounge presented by Riotfest, Chicago
15th May – Melody Inn, Indiana
16th May – Red Flag, St Louis
17th May – Hi Tone, Memphis
18th May – The Parish at HOB, New Orleans
19th May – The Secret, Houston
20th May – Kick Butt Coffee, Austin
21st May – Tattoo convention, Dallas Trees
22nd May – Blue Note, Oklahoma
25th May – Yucca Tap Room, Tempe
26th May – Corazon Del, San Diego
27th May – Alex’s Bar, Long Beach
Above The Static Tracklisting
Call Me On the Way Home
Flatlined
All Turned Blue
Doorstep
Never Gonna Happen
Laptop
Lighthouse Keeper
Love The Love
Prince Of Nothing
Two Dog Night
Don’t Die Today
Going Forward