Know Now: BARSTAFF Wanted! (North West England)
‘Know Now’ by BARSTAFF
Image: Louise Marcella
Argh, gotta love a catchy and warm sounding top pop tip-off (from our friends at This Feeling): ‘Know Now’ is a cheer up when the nation feels a bit down.
From the bounced up summery sonics to the gem-generic bar themed artwork, there’s something in the air about these #FuturePicks. Like the sing along energy of the first release, ‘Rockets’ (and the more introspective, ’Room With No View’), BARSTAFF have yet again geared straight up to a mainstream level sound.
Featuring local artist Zha Olu, who was recently a star turn at Wigan Pride, ‘Know Now’ is a heartfelt, gently driven delivery of beatpop dynamics.
Characterized by its experimental tones and the juxtaposition between the two vocalists, ‘Know Now’ solidifies its place within the influx of bedroom pop tunes dominating the music industry at the moment.
Unsatisfied with being just lumped into the sprawling genre, BARSTAFF sprinkle some early-00s-indie on top. With crunchy guitars, sticky-dancefloor drums and sing-along hooks, we’re informed that ‘Know Now’ is a song that is best ingested live.
BARSTAFF?
The promising North West of England quartet are actual bar staff who traded pouring pints for penning pop just before the dawn of COVID-19.
Ciara (bass), Jack (drums) and Ben (vocals) hail from the hot band land that is, Wigan. Guitarist, Byrom, is from nearby Warrington. There are layers to these musicians.
Itching to get working again post-lockdown, this summer they’ve reconvened and assembled a catalogue of feel-good bangers. With follow-up singles in the pipeline and live shows announcing as a part of their recent ‘World Tour’ (this month, of Wigan!), the band intend to end 2022 with a bang and start next year with an even bigger one.
'Know Now' is the second of five tracks from their debut EP which is due in early 2023.
Have an AWEsome AWEtumn!
@barstaffband recently tweeted “Massive Thank You to John Kennedy for debuting our new Single 'Know Now' ft Zha Olu, means the world And as always thanks to This Feeling for making the magic happen.”. Both of these names are beloved by bands, the X-posure guru at Radio X and the UK’s No.1 live rock n roll club/zone have been on board early doors with BARSTAFF from the first release.
Then in October it’s the local headline, guaranteed to be helluva Friday night out!
