EP review: Bishops Green – “Waiting”

Pirate’s Press Records – 15 Jul 2022

Another great EP just two months after the last.

After several years with very little new music, Bishops Green are back in a big way. Just two months after their excellent, seven song 12-inch EP Black Skies (read my review of that release here), the band has dropped the somewhat ironically titled Waiting. The new, six song 12-inch EP features three studio tracks and three live tracks. While it’s a solid record in its own right, it’s also a nice counterpoint to its immediate predecessor. 

Black Skies featured some of the band’s most ambitious and nuanced songwriting to date. By comparison, Waiting feels like a back to basics street punk beatdown. That’s not a bad thing. The title track challenges the next generation to do better than the last. “Working Poor” is a powerful new edition to the band’s already impressive collection of blue collar anthems. “We Decide” is a declaration of independence, and previously appeared on the 2020 Garry Bushell curated compilation OI! 40 Years Untamed, also on Pirate’s Press Records.

The songs on side B of Waiting were recorded live at the infamous Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver. All three are originally from Bishop Green’s self-titled 2013 EP. The performances here are aggressive and energetic, and the sound is good. After a couple of years with very little live music, it feels intentionally defiant. “Tumbling Down”, “Alone” and “The Crow” work well thematically with the new songs too. There is some canned crowd noise and laughter, from an old TV show probably, interspersed to make things a little more fun. 

It’s interesting to think about what could have been if Bishops Green had added these three studio bangers to the seven excellent songs they released a couple months back. It may have been a serious contender for Album of the Year. Does that even still matter? Or did Covid and vinyl pressing issues kill the LP? Regardless of any of that, 2022 continues to be a very good year for Bishops Green. 

For vinyl fiends: Simple but poignant black and white cover art for this 12”, 45 RPM EP. But there are some really cool wax options. You can choose from ultra clear and black galaxy, blood red with black splatter, black ice with red and white splatter, or classic black.