Thursday, 16 November 2017

Starsailor release Digital Deluxe edition of All This Life


Thursday 26th October - Starsailor announced the release of the digital deluxe edition of their latest album All This Life, which is now available to download/stream and includes acoustic versions of 4 songs from the album.

All This Life is Starsailor's fifth studio album, which is their first since 2009 and their highest chart placing for 12 years. The album has been greeted with rave reviews and is their fifth consecutive Top 30 studio album and sees the band re-energised and on outstanding form.





“Winning fusion of powerpop, electronics and blue-eyed soul.” – Mojo

“…guitar, keyboard and vocal elements perfectly blended into the type of arena sound formula that works for Coldplay and U2.” – Louder Than War

The band have also released a video for the live acoustic version of the ‘Listen To Your Heart’, which is taken from the new album and filmed in an intimate session during the recording process.




Friday, 20 October 2017

All This Life Tour Blog by Nick Bull (@nickbull21)


New songs galore. Fan favourites aplenty. Packed venues. Brilliant performances. Starsailor's last series of headline UK shows may have only been 10 months ago but their All This Life Tour - which they're already over halfway through - feels like an overdue return of one of the best bands on the scene right now.



From Ben Byrne's brilliant tom and snare drum intro to "Listen To Your Heart" in Cambridge last week through to a rousing rendition of "Good Souls" in Liverpool's ever-sweaty O2 Academy on Thursday night, the band continue to excel in putting people through an emotional rollercoaster night after night after night after night.

Naturally, the old favourites are being played. "Fever" sounds jazzier than ever thanks to Stel's nightly improvisation on the bass. "Four To The Floor" has new life breathed into it in a favourable pre-encore slot. "Lullaby" comes with an introduction from James Walsh during which he says that anybody born around the time of its release as a single in late 2001 would almost be able to drink legally. How time flies, eh? And I dare anybody to say they're bored of hearing "Tell Me It's Not Over", which retains all of its anguish and power a decade on from its first live airings.

But, thankfully, the band's sets are full of material from their triumphant "All This Life" album. With the long-overdue inclusion of "Sunday Best" - demanded relentlessly by fans on social media - in Birmingham this week, the last few shows have seen an impressive eight new tracks in their 95-minute sets. Few bands these days would have the guts to play that many, I tell you now. "FIA", performed as per the studio version with only James, Stel and Barry Westhead (complete with his whirling keyboard parts) on stage, steals the show. Monday night's airing of that in Leeds was particularly special, with its sweary refrain echoing off the walls of the Beckett University's box-shaped venue. That said, you can't overlook the ferocity of "Blood", which comes up and slaps you in the face like a hoody-wearing teenager seeking their first ASBO.
However, this tour is more about the band and their music. From the first timers in Cambridge and the drunk couple in Norwich through to those seeing their 50th Starsailor show, audiences up and down the country have more than played their part in the gigs.

One enthusiastic heckler on night one demanded even more from the new album, definite proof that it sits brilliantly alongside the four fine releases that precede it. So good was the audience's singing in Sheffield that James spontaneously got the crowd to sing one final chorus of "Fever" on their own, a request that they duly fulfilled in style. One of the tour highlights, that. And those inside Bristol's Bierkeller at the weekend simply got it. "Saturday night gigs are normally really good, but this has been exceptional," James told them, thus raising the noise levels even more.

Another new song, "Best Of Me" plays a part in the nightly vibe, too. Having more than adequately replaced "Keep Us Together" in the pre-end of main set audience participation slot, the way James commands them to sing the chorus "WOAHs" shows a front man on the top of his game.

And you know what the best thing is? There are still five chances to see them around the UK on this tour, starting with Newcastle (Saturday) and Glasgow (Sunday). That's an offer you'd be silly to refuse.

Wednesday, 6 September 2017

All This Life review, by Nick Bull (@nickbull21)

Eight years. Has it really been eight years between Starsailor releasing All The Plans and All This Life, of which the latter came out last Friday? In that time they've teased us with brilliant headline tours in 2015 and 2016, festival appearances aplenty and two new tracks to supplement the Good Souls: The Greatest Hits release. However, the band's fifth studio album - produced by Embrace guitarist and occasional fifth Starsailor member Richard McNamara - is their first studio album in nearly a decade. And guess what? It's a cracker.

There's plenty here for fans old and new, most notably the key musical ingredients of Love Is Here (James Walsh's powerful voice, the subtleties of Barry Westhead's keyboard and organ playing and the most underrated rhythm section in music today in Stel and Ben Byrne). Add to that the experimental sounds of Silence Is Easy, production as fresh as that on On The Outside and the lyrical themes of All The Plans and it's a commanding return.

In true Starsailor style, the album begins with a powerful opener. Premiered online at the start of July, Listen To Your Heart is a musical tour de force, driven by Ben Byrne's drumming throughout. His playing also makes it easy to overlook Stel's bass riff in the verses, too. Together they compliment each other perfectly, a complete juxtaposition to the "head is saying give up, don't go on it's too much, listen to your heart" battle in the chorus.

All This Life lends its name to both the album title and second song on it. If the record's opener had an emotional dilemma at its heart, this song sees the author in a more definitive mindset. "Gonna find another bed to break, instead of changing the way we feel" sings James in the opening verse. In dark times worldwide, the notion that "in all this life, there's no love without light" is positively reaffirming. Furthermore the video features scenes of Stel serving behind a bar and Ben peeling spuds - what's not to like?

Patience is the name of the game in Take A Little Time, the third track made available online prior to the album's release. Fittingly, the song dates back a number of years - it was originally demoed by the band in late 2014 and has changed considerably since. "Great journeys start with one small step," James Walsh sings in the opening verse, under which sets a bed of his backing vocals. We're not quite talking Bohemian Rhapsody here in terms of complexity, but across the multi-tracked choruses and bridge, not to mention Ben's numerous drum and percussion parts, it's clear that the band put a fair few hours into this one.

Starsailor go funky for Caught In The Middle, which is further confirmation of the band's numerous and varied musical influences. Yet amid Stel's soulful bassline, finger clicks and claps, and Barry's unique keyboard sounds, lyrically and emotionally it's a continuation of the album's emerging theme, one of a relationship breakdown. The second verse is suitably emotive: "Suddenly confusion rings, where we once had peace of mind, can ambition be contained, when there is no other light..."

And that theme continues into Sunday Best, a track that gets better with every listen. It feels post-argument, mid-period of reflection: "How would you feel if I was somewhere else? And how would you feel if it was someone else?". By using guest vocalist Ella McNamara brilliantly in the outro, it feels like the listener gets to hear both sides of the story.

Debuted live during last December's Out In The Fields Of Winter Tour, Blood is surely going to keep its place in the band's sets for the foreseeable future. Helped by a mantra of a chorus ("All the blood that I bled, all nights that we cried, all the demons we fed, should have kept the same side...") it builds up to fantastic musical crescendo to end.

Another track played in concert prior to its official release, Best Of Me includes one of my favourite bridges James Walsh has ever written. "And if you don't wanna fall out, don't kick when I come down, kick when I come down. Better help each other out, before we go to ground, before we go to ground," he sings, ripping into it like a man possessed, as if there's a battle that needs winning. The "woahs" in the chorus should be a crowd pleaser, too.

Break The Cycle contains the line "running out of words, running out of words to write". There's no harm in admitting writer's block: heck, 300 words or so on that very subject gave Springsteen one of his biggest hits in Dancing In The Dark. This song is also the start of the best narrative four-pack I'd say the band have ever laid out on any album.

Fallout is already a hit with the fans - and also Barry Westhead's favourite on the album. The brilliant melody combined with a cross stick drum rhythm, crunching guitar riff, moody bass line and movie score-esque strings adds to the tense, stand-off nature of this masterpiece. Thematically, it appears that a resolution is near: "Are we destined for a life of blame, or are we ready to embrace the change?" I'm not too sure we'll hear it live, but James has already begun adding excerpts into Tell Me It's Not Over...

My go-to song on the album is FIA (F**k It All), which is also the longest studio recording the band have released to date (I'm not counting the secret track to end Coming Down on Love Is Here). It sounds like nothing the band have released previously, yet it sits nicely at home in the back catalogue. James's ever growing falsetto confidence continues throughout (he switches out of it in style for the "doesn't matter what we want if it hurts them now" line in verse two) and is complimented by some spacey keyboard parts. It's one to listen to through headphones late at night.

In signature style, All This Life ends with a pensive, stripped back track, although no previous album closer has been as heartfelt as No One Else. Track length aside (it clocks in at just over two minutes) it wouldn't be out of place on Dylan's heartbreak album Blood On The Tracks. Its confessional lyrics ("No one else can calm the fear in me, no one else can hurt me like you do") and beautiful, hair-raising vocal from James remind me why I fell in love with this band 16-and-a-half years ago.

This is, undoubtedly, Starsailor's finest hour. There are songs perfect for a party playlist, others for a quiet night in. This isn't just Starsailor's Sunday Best, it's an album that perfectly fills the eight-year gap since their last. All This Life is out now! Grab your copy here

Friday, 30 June 2017

New album 'All This Life' + UK tour announcement

British quartet Starsailor, have announced their brand new album All This Life, set for both physical and digital release on September 1st via Cooking Vinyl. The triumphant lead track ‘Listen To Your Heart’ is now available to stream HERE.

Starsailor today also announce a full UK headline tour (see details below). Fans who pre-order All This Life now from the Official Starsailor Store on the band’s website will get exclusive access to the tour presale, and also be able to download ‘Listen To Your Heart’ as an instant grat. Exclusive signed items and special bundles are also available through the store.

‘Listen To Your Heart’ is the stellar opening track from the album. Lead singer & guitarist James Walsh describes it as, “an energetic, emotional song. I think in doing what we do, you have to be emotion and instinct lead. If every decision was sensible, practical and mulled over, we'd never have done anything or got anywhere. It’s not always easy, so you have to keep reminding yourself”

Of the album and recording process, Walsh says; “Recording the album was an intense and rewarding experience and we're excited to get it out there. There's a good mix of the aspects of the band people know and love, and a few changes in direction"

Their fifth studio album – and first since 2009 – All This Life finds Starsailor re-energised and on outstanding form. They played to an ecstatic crowd in a packed Big Top Stage at this year’s Isle Of Wight Festival and debuted a new track from the forthcoming album. 

Starsailor play British Summer Time at Hyde Park today alongside Phil Collins, Blondie and more, as well as Hope & Glory Festival in Liverpool in August.  They set out on a 12 date headline tour of the UK in October – see full tour dates below.


FESTIVAL APPEARANCES
June 30th – BST @ Hyde Park, London
August 5th – Hope & Glory Festival, Liverpool

UK HEADLINE TOUR
12th Oct – Cambridge, Junction
13th Oct – Norwich, Waterfront
14th Oct – Bristol, Bierkeller
16th Oct – Leeds, Beckett Students’ Union
17th Oct – Birmingham, O2 Institute 2
18th Oct – Sheffield, Leadmill
19th Oct – Liverpool, Academy
21st Oct – Newcastle, Boiler Shop
22nd Oct – Glasgow, O2 ABC
24th Oct – Manchester, O2 Ritz
25th Oct – Brighton, Concorde 2
26th Oct – London, KOKO

‘ALL THIS LIFE’ TRACK LISTING
1. Listen To Your Heart
2. All This Life
3. Take A Little Time
4. Caught In The Middle
5. Sunday Best
6. Blood
7. Best Of Me
8. Break The Cycle
9. Fallout
10. FIA (F**ck It All)
11. No One Else