EP REVIEW: Bishops Green – Black Skies (Pirates Press Records)
Bishops Green are a Canadian band who have been spreading their streetpunk message since 2011.
Over two albums and a handful of EPs and singles they have made their mark far beyond their homeland of Vancouver, British Columbia.
They’re hard-hitting but melodic in the same way as much-loved UK bands like Stiff Little Fingers and Cock Sparrer and ’80s US bands like Naked Raygun.
Their music is raw, anthemic, and full of passion and pride, and I’d go as far as to say this record – not quite an album but, with seven tracks, more than an EP – is their best yet.
It’s their first release since 2016’s Back To Our Roots, and they’ve undergone a double personnel change since then.
Two of the original members – vocalist Greg Huff and drummer Orville Lancaster – remain, and they’re joined in the latest line-up by Rob Schwitzer on guitar and Troy Zak on bass and backing vocals.
Black Skies is the sound of Bishops Green emerging into the post-pandemic world, having their say and sounding REALLY FUCKING ANGRY about the last couple of years.
Last Minute Warning is a thunderous opening track, which I’m guessing is about the pandemic with its payoff “too many zeros, too many lives, so much sorrow, so many lies”.
Empty Streets ups the anger even further, looking back to that time in March 2020 when people around the world were told to stay at home to be safe from a deadly virus that we knew so little about.
What For is a particularly poignant slice of political punk in a world where the madman Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine? Over and over again it demands: “Are you fighting, what are you fighting for?”
Side two kicks off with Ravens Cry, whose refrain of “ravens calling, dark clouds, black skies” give the record its name, as it warns “conspiracy starts to grow in these darker times”.
The rich and famous who’ve had life too easy are the target of Your Paradox, while No Tomorrow is perhaps the bleakest song here, not written from the viewpoint of someone waiting for a train, as the lyrics suggest, but apparently from the mindset of someone whose life seems to have run out of options.
Things are brought to a stunning close with Another Mourning, which seems to pay tribute to the victims of the pandemic, and promises “we will follow you, voices is in our hearts”.
I described Bishops Green’s sound as ‘hard-hitting’ earlier in this review, but that doesn’t even begin to sum up this record.
Lots of bands have written songs about the Covid-19 outbreak and its effects. Few have done it with such power and passion. This is an absolutely essential record if you like your punk rock loud, full of fire, with a real message.
I’ve only seen Bishops Green live once, at Rebellion Festival back in 2014. They return to Blackpool this year, and on this evidence I’d say they’re absolutely unmissable. 9/10.
- Black Skies by Bishops Green is available directly from Pirates Press Records HERE, in black, milky clear or black clear vinyl. Choose the European Ground Shipping option for postage if you’re in the UK.
