Sta Prest - Shadow Boy

Sta Prest are somewhat of a staple in the UK punk scene, and rightly so. They’re still around it seems and are back with a bang in the shape of Shadow Boy. From the time you press play, it’s a hark back to the glory days of the UK punk scene. It brings back so many fond memories, and it’s steeped in nostalgia.

Every song on the album is a short, sharp shock keeping to the classic format. On the surface, the songs sound simple, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find that it’s not all noise and attitude (although that seems to be the main goal here), because there’s plenty of complexity thrown in. Enough to provide some relief from the straight ahead punk that we’re all so familiar with, there’s even a ballad(ish) song ffs, although no punk ballad will EVER surpass Anti Nowhere League’s “Woman” of course….

Anyway, I digress. Shadow Boy is a stunning album (although I may be biased because I’m old and this takes me back to my youth), because there’s not too much of this stuff around anymore, which is a shame, because it still stands the test of time. One of the things I like most though, as that it doesn’t take itself seriously all the time.
Yes, there are some politically charged songs, and that’s par for the course, but you’ll also find a couple of songs that wouldn’t be out of place on a Toy Dolls album. I found myself laughing a few times, which is certainly no bad thing.