They Liked You Better When You Were Dead is the debut EP by English rock band Fightstar, released on 28 February 2005 through Sandwich Leg Records. The release proved a critical success, in spite of the cynics' initial expectations of the band. It has been said that the EP helped "present Fightstar as a British rival to the East Coast alternative rock scene". Alex Westaway, the band's lead guitarist and co-lyricist drew the artwork based on Edward Norton for the inlay of the booklet, as the record was inspired by author Chuck Palahniuk and the film adaptation Fight Club.

The UK version contained 5 tracks (including a sixth hidden track), meaning the EP was ineligible for the UK Singles Chart. However, the release proved popular enough to warrant a reprinting on 23 March 2005. The music video for "Palahniuk's Laughter" enjoyed heavy rotation on music channels and spent many weeks in charts based on video and radio requests. The EP was released in April 2006 in North America through Deep Elm Records as an extended mini-album.

Background, writing and recording

During 2003, when Charlie Simpson was still an active member of successful pop trio Busted, he met fellow songwriter-guitarist Alex Westaway and drummer Omar Abidi at a party. He was by this stage becoming increasingly frustrated by the music he was performing in Busted and stated he had "all of this creativity pent up inside and I just needed to vent it somewhere, and I was writing a lot of songs but I couldn’t play them, because I didn’t have anyone to play them with".

Westaway subsequently moved into Simpson's spare room after dropping out of university and the pair began writing together. Over the next six months, the EP had been written. Commenting on recording period, Simpson later stated:

Following much scepticism during the band's emergence due to Charlie Simpson's past, things began to turn in the quartet's favour.

A string of positive reviews to early live shows were followed by acclaimed reaction to the EPs release.

Allmusic were

highly favourable, awarding four stars. They wrote, "At a time when post-hardcore's torch seems to have been almost completely passed to succeeding generations of screamo bands, Fightstar stand firmly enough on the mother country of their genre to do well by the legacy of groups such as Fugazi and Helmet. Vocalists Al Westaway and Charlie Simpson utilize a distinct sound that reaches total catharsis.

Train-like guitar work also adds strength to the record, creating drama and tension in the key moments.

The driving force behind most of the songs, however, is the rhythm section. The tight bass lines and tighter drumming are what lead each track through its arc, shirking convention when things start to get clichéd".

| title1 = Palahniuk's Laughter

| length1 = 4:10

| title2 = Speak Up

| length2 = 3:27

| title3 = Mono

| length3 = 6:26

| title4 = Lost Like Tears in Rain

| length4 = 4:07

| title5 = Amethyst

| note5 = contains the hidden track "Hazy Eyes"

| length5 = 7:19

| total_length = 25:39

Personnel

The following personnel contributed to They Liked You Better When You Were Dead:

|-

| rowspan="1"|Europe

| rowspan="1"|28 February 2005

| Sandwich Leg

| EP

| Digipack

| CID887

|

|-

| rowspan="1"|North America

| rowspan="1"|12 April 2006

| Deep Elm

| Mini-LP

| Compact Disc

| DER-453

|

|}

References

  • The Official Website of Fightstar