Album Review
Gerard Starkie
Before The Calm Acoustic
Limited edition LP | DL – DL available next Bandcamp Friday
Vinyl released 30/06/26
Former frontman with Witness, re-records their debut album as a solo acoustic project. Dan O’Farrell reviews.
It must have been 1999 when I first heard Witness. I remember flicking idly through the music TV channels – back when that was a thing – and stumbling upon two young guys with acoustic guitars playing for a show on (I think) VH-1. Something in the intro to the song made me pause – an unusual, slightly discordant guitar figure – and as soon as the singer, Gerard Starkie, opened his mouth, I was hooked. I sought out the single – ‘Scars’ – next time I was near a record shop, just because I wanted to keep listening to it, (back when that was a thing , too) and bought the CD of the band’s first album – ‘Before The Calm’ – when it came out later in the year. As a singer in a band working in a similar vein – REM-inflected Anglo-indie-emo-Americana would be the closest conglomeration of sub-genres – I remember feeling a stab of envy for these guys from Wigan, who had – it transpired – been snatched-up by Island Records on the strength of an early demo, wrote these amazing songs, had Blue Aeroplane legend John Langley on drums and – to cap it all! – even had great hair. Witness seemed to burn bright for while – both ‘Before The Calm’ and 2001’s follow-up album ‘Under A Sun’ were great and highly regarded – they seemed to fall foul of label restructuring and split in 2004.
Fast forward to 2026 and I find myself unable to stop listening to ‘Scars’ all over again, this time courtesy of Gerard Starkie’s new solo version of the first Witness album: ‘Before The Calm Acoustic’. It’s still a world-beating song, haunting and affecting, with a key-line that lodges deeper in your head with every listen: ‘Don’t cover-up your scars/ cause I don’t wanna know/ about close approximations/ I wanna take you home…’), presented here – like all the album – with just an acoustic guitar and Starkie’s still-keening, smoky-Stipe voice, buffeted by the occasional spare but atmospheric overdub.
The motivations for re-recording a classic first album later in life are interesting. Kevin Rowland keeps tinkering with and releasing new versions of the early Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ albums, professing himself never quite happy with the original mix. Paddy McAloon’s acoustic takes of Prefab Sprout’s ‘Steve McQueen’ album made a maddingly-collectible Record Store Day package. Many artists seem to share the urge to return to the scene of the crime.
So what has driven Gerard Starkie – now a member of excellent Bristol duo The Jesus Bolt with Hazel Winter – to go back to his roots? Gerard’s reply to my question about his motivations was more practical than the Rowland/McAloon examples: ‘After The Storm’ is no longer available anywhere and old Witness manager Tim Vigon suggested that an acoustic version for streaming would be a good way to rectify the situation: these songs still deserve to be heard. The resulting recording session – two days, quick and raw – came out so well that Lupine Records offered to put it out on vinyl (pre-orders now live – link at end of review).
These recordings certainly deserve to be heard more widely. Engineered by Matt Simpson, who’s previously worked with Starkie on previous solo albums and Jesus Bolt releases, the album sounds ‘camp-fire lush’, with Starkie’s strong, quavery voice given room to breathe, but with the acoustic guitars still mixed unapologetically loud and proud. The sparingly-used overdubs – a harmony line here, a pleasingly squawk-some recorder line there, an occasional harmonium-style drone used as musical glue – add just enough sonic surprise without over-egging any puddings. It’s a raw and intimate listen.
The songs still sound great too. The majestic ‘Scars’ aside, ‘Hijacker’ offers another country-folk aural-hug, its pretty melody building over a simple two-chord strum. ‘Second Life’ is even prettier, Starkie’s voice hitting its higher register with affecting purity. The epic ‘Heirloom’ offers the album’s fullest sound, a church-tinged confessional that ebbs, flows and builds over its five minute length. It’s a perfect chill-out album for a late night listen, hitting a mood and staying there, not unlike Beck’s ‘Sea Change’ or the early Leonard Cohen albums.
It’s fascinating to hear these words, written nearly 30 years ago by a younger version of the singer, now being crooned with the voice of maturity. What could be a jarring disconnect works well here: Starkie’s lyrics already had a pleasing sense of resilience built on top of the melancholy, in the same way that fellow Wigan-ite Richard Ashcroft always sang with the soul of a world-weary war-veteran. His older-and-wiser take on these songs in 2026 makes perfect sense, as if he’s grown into the ‘old head on young shoulders’ vibe of the original recordings.
Anyone seeking a pure hit of intimate, unhurried and sad-eyed Americana should check this out here.
~
All words by Dan O’Farrell. More writing by Dan can be found at hisauthor’s archive.
Dan is also on Instagram as @DOF_AND_THE_DIFFERENCE_ENGINE
Bonus Track – This slipped thru the Louder Than War net a year back. Solo single from GS from forthcoming album, Looking Up Through Consciousness – on bandcamp and the video is here ..
Previously on Louder Than War
Gerard Starkie – Flood Myths – single review and video premiere.
‘Oh yeah, the one where you compare me to Dylan from the Magic Roundabout….thanks for that.’
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief