It’s been a long time since a ska punk band has impressed me quite like The Bar Stool Preachers have.
I’m sure there are plenty of great releases out there I just haven’t gotten into, but nothing really has stuck out to me for years. That ended the moment I popped in Grazie Governo, released though Pirates Press Records.
The UK ska punk act already cut their teeth with their debut release Blatant Propaganda and has been around since 2014, but sadly this music fan missed that album in the sea of releases over the years. Trust me, I will be checking that out very soon after obsessing over their new one. I also need to note how pissed I am at myself for missing these guys play Cleveland in June with the Street Dogs.
If you are in the same boat as I am and are not familiar with The Bar Stool Preachers then you’ll probably be instantly intrigued to know that frontman Tom McFaull’s father, Colin McFaull, comes from son little UK band called Cock Sparrer. Needless to say, this band might just have learned a thing or two over the years just based on the bloodline alone.
Album title track “Grazie Governo” started strong with working class appeal that more or less thanked the government with plenty of rebellious intention. I adored everything about this track from the horns to the organs that seemingly works with the current reality TV politics we are dealing with here in the states.
“8.6 Days (All The Broken Hearts)” was a love song that held more honest and true than most I have heard in my time. I enjoyed the blatant honesty in the lyrics on this one and enjoyed the ride of emotion fueled with pop punk riffs and backup vocals, especially at the end when everyone just came together.
“Choose My Friends” featuring Aimee Interrupter is the song everyone needs to check out because it’s just that damn good. This song has been stuck in my head for days and I am sure it will be for a long time as it made an impression on me as it just brought so many styles of music together. Without ruining it, just listen to it yourself already. I even added the music video for the song below.
One of my favorite tracks was “DLTDHYOTHO” most likely because of that Oi attitude layered with the horns and that ever-catchy organ playing. A fight song indeed and not something you want to be faced up against in a dark alley because you’d surely get your teeth kicked in. This song just ruled and reminded me of when a young me first heard Operation Ivy and the feeling that quickly infected my innocent mind changing me forever.
“Drive” was great in that McFaull took the listener on a hell of an adventure singing of a heist to pay off debts and escaping like the infamous Steve McQueen. Sometimes fictitious songs like this seem corny when in the middle of a serious album, but this was done right and just enjoyable.
That piano playing on “Since You” may have sucked me in, but the bass line is what kept me. A gruff Mad Caddies-like tune with plenty of singable qualities even if about the hard knocks of relationships. The best was towards the end when things picked up during the moment of clarity.
I’m convinced his band is going to be getting a ton of attention this year based their hybrid of ska and punk rock. This is the music fans who were told ska was dead once are going to eat up and lace their boots up proudly to. Did that even make sense? Well it did to me. Skank away guys, skank away.
Think along the lines of Rancid, Propagandhi, The Specials, and even The Aggrolites with a more pop punk punch. It’s like what The Dropkick Murphys might have sounded like if they were from the UK instead of Boston and lost that Irish shtick. Working collar ska punk anthems galore for everyone to get into. Do not sit on these guys at all.