In 2005 I was asked if I wanted to get tickets to BSP’s upcoming performance in San Francisco. Having listened to the first few tracks off their first record (and quickly turning them off), I told my friends that I didn’t like British Sea Power. “Are you sure? Have you heard Open Season?” No, why, no I had not.

So, I got their sophomore release and put it on in the kitchen of our old place on 41st street in Oakland while I started cooking up some Indian food from scratch (it was a phase). By the time “Please Stand Up” came on I was hooked, floored, and impressed.

We went to see the band and I thought they were good, but, you know, not GREAT. Then I left on a US tour in August 2005. Every night after a show I found myself, a little tipsy, crawling into my bench seat in our white Ford Econoline and putting on Open Season. Upstate New York to Columbus? BSP. An overnight drive from Norfolk to Philly? BSP. Twice.

So, I waited patiently for their new record to be released in 2008 and now that Do You Like Rock Music? is here life is good again. I mean, what can really be better than an album recorded in a converted water tower in a 200 year-old fort and the forests of the Krivoklatsko Biosphere Reserve in the Czech Republic? Even the album release party was at the Czech embassy in London!

British Sea Power are eccentric, odd, whimsical, and damn good with a rock song. The first single from DYLRM? thunders with (yes, many have said it) Arcade Fire style anthemics. It’s a call to their people to join them in their kooky adventures.

Waving Flags:

Lead singles are supposed to be good, catchy, and powerful (duh), but it’s the rest of the album that really draws me in. While driving home in the cold rain the other night the different layers of a song like “A Trip Out” killed me. There’s the rocking guitar intro with huge kick drum beats and the a call to arms. “Pick up your sickle, get on board. We’re all going on a trip out.” Are they English seafarers heading over to the Isle of Wight for a take down?

A Trip Out:

The song changes pace with the line “One fine day before the apocalpyse…” and I laughed out loud in the car at just how GOOD it was and how GOOD music can be.

So, yes. I might have a favorite band again. It’s been a long time coming and it makes all music sound good again.