 | | Old School Tie |
There are certain bands whose mere name gives away their style immediately. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci could only ever be a Welsh Indie band, for example. Meanwhile, Gladys Knight and the Pips was bound to be the name of a Motown act, and the Backstreet Boys just had to be a fresh faced boy band who had never been anywhere near a backstreet in the lives. Back to school No surprise then that Old School Tie market themselves as an "instrumental alternative rock band". And as you may have guessed, they formed at school. But for all these (correct) assumptions, what is not necessarily clear from the name is the question of the quality of OST’s music. And here’s the thing. They are actually quite good. Well, very good in fact. Songs without words Being an instrumental band, they have been freed of the necessity to write anything so predictable as a verse-chorus-verse chorus song. Instead, freed from the constraints of lyrics, they can let their considerable imagination take them in any virtually any direction they like. If only more bands had the courage to ditch the lyricist or vocalist (albeit temporarily), there might be a few more bands of the quality of Old School Tie. The only band that could ever reach me The Preacher is a three-track EP of pure instrumentals. Given the prog-rock aspirations of the band, you would have to expect bizarre titles that border on the pretentious. Again OST do not disappoint.
 | | Old School Tie |
The track listing is as follows: "With the Sun on his Back and Bags under his Eyes", "A Day Saved" and "She had her Reasons". They don’t quite meet the magnificent preposterousness of Porcupine Tree’s "Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is Recycled", but they are, non the less interesting, particularly as there are no lyrics to indicate the exact meaning of suns on backs, bags under eyes, days saved or women having reasons (surely a contradiction in terms…….). Genre flexing Track one opens with a Red Hot Chilli Peppers if ever there was one (think "By the Way" and you’re half way there). It then moves into a piece of music that hints at reggae, funk, traditional rock. Finally a duet of dueling guitars threatens to become something as anthemic as Fleetwood Mac’s "The Chain". For all the pomposity of its obscure title, "With the Sun on his Back and Bags under his Eyes" is a perfectly formed rock sonata of a track. Give Us This Day "A Day Saved" is a more traditional Prog-Rock affair. It’s a thoughtful track that, in the true spirit of all rock that is progressive takes its time. After three minutes of gorgeous meanderings, it’s hardly got going at all – and the piece is all the better for it. Delicately plucked guitar work is superceded by heavily distorted soaring solos which then give way to a chugging, noisy climax of pure noise. "A Day Saved" is glorious, stately and enormous in its concept from beginning to triumphant end. Film music And then there is "She had her Reasons". Again the delicately plucked guitars begin their work, this time accompanied by a piano guiding the tune along its rich and diverse path. As with the previous two tracks, "She had her Reasons" is almost cinematic in scope.
 | | Old School Tie |
Especially thanks to the lack of lyrics, it would be easy to imagine the music being used on the silver screen – if only so that you could then say that OST (Old School Tie) wrote a film’s OST (Original Soundtrack). Or maybe I should just get out more. Grand Finale "She Had her Reasons" ambles towards another impressive ending before hurrying up, only to slow right down again. There is a wall of high pitched guitars, beating drums and chugging bass that builds and builds up to a grand finale of pure rock and then… And then there is a piano solo full of fast flourishes and trills – the kind that would make your piano teacher very happy indeed. It’s reminiscent of the way Muse used Rachmaninov in their Absolution track "Butterflies and Hurricanes". The only difference is that OST haven’t borrowed Rachmaninov. They’ve invented it for themselves. The bigger picture The end result is that Old School Tie have produced a stunning piece of work in the form of The Preacher. The tracks on this EP form part of a much longer work where the pieces blend into one another. It’s a pity this CD does not offer the full work. Instead the world will have to be content with what is available: three tracks of gloriously well thought out music that transcend musical genre. | 
