Having had a fantastic 2022, which saw The Assist release their debut album Council Pop (reaching number 9 in the independent charts and 35 in the album chart) winning two awards at the Birmingham Music Awards 2022 (Best album and best song (Better Days) and supporting indie legends The Rifles the Walsall 5-piece are set to release their superb new EP Council Pop Unplugged.
Unplugged features 4 heartfelt renditions of ‘My Friend Drug’, ‘Numb’, ‘Daydream’ and ‘Better Days’. Drawing inspiration from the arrangements and string sections from The Rifles Unplugged album, The Assist have sprinkled their own bit of magic on each track, stripping them right back and adding orchestral strings and Violinist and composer Julianne Bourne. A special mention to Mikey Stanton’s vocal that is packed with plenty emotion and is the focal point of the songs.
“We are no longer teenagers looking for any excuse to be on stage. We are musicians now and our artist integrity is so important to us. We have a lot to say and sometimes it translates that little bit better when you turn the tube screamer off and explore other energies.”
Mikey Stanton
These four tracks were selected for inclusion on Council Pop Unplugged due to their meaning and sentiment to the band and were originally written on an acoustic guitar and formed the foundations of Council Pop and sees the band come full circle.
The ease in which the band have performed these these well-loved tracks and given them a whole new meaning and sound is something to behold and truly amazing.
The Assist have delivered a fantastic EP that is rich in sound, delivered with real passion and is a fitting finale to Council Pop. They are a band that you can’t ignore and they are sure to have a big impact on 2023.
The Assist are going back out on tour in April taking in Manchester, Glasgow and London.
Council Pop Unplugged is released on Friday 17th February and can be pre-saved here.
The Assist frontman Mikey Stanton was a guest on the ThisIsTheMusic meets podcast which you can listen to here or watch here.
ThisIsTheMusic 
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