Reviews
2007-09-10
Boys Night Out released one of the oddest and best concept albums I've had the chance to get acquainted with…a full-scale tragic story about love and madness with various atrocities, which seem made up but can just as well have a realistic basis, a wide & smart use of effects, melodies and orchestrations – it's all there. Yep, Boys Night Out's 2005 album "Trainwreck" was good alright… as for this self-titled release, at the present date of the latter half of 2007, it's quite a different story.
We pick up with Canada's Boys Night Out as the bright pink/yellow cover for their self-titled album flashes our eyes. Its cover is seemingly one of the very few things distinguishing this self-titled release from the rest of the pile of similar bands. Its cover is an eye catcher, that's for sure. As for the genre- saying this is "emotional pop-punkrock" is my way of avoiding labeling this as plain emo, or god-forbid Post-hardcore. Boys Night Out hold on to some punk roots with their attitude ("The Push And Pull"), have some sing alongs ("Let Me Be Your Swear Word", "Swift And Unforgiving"), produce danceable upbeat numbers ("The Heirs Of Horror", "Apartment"), but mostly do a good job at creating a buyable record here.
Why buyable? Well, aside from adding some color to your CD stand…wouldn't you buy an album you can listen to more than once and ultimately play repeatedly and not get tired of? The level of catchiness throughout Boys Night Out's third full length is inspiring, simply put. From the get go on opener "Get Your Head Straight" (I dare you to restrain yourself from going "Get your head straight/ before it's too late") to the grand finale of dramatic downtempo "It Won't Be Long" there are numerous hooks, meaty riffs and memorable melodies. Once in your system, it's gonna be hard to get it out from there.
So what about the bad side? First - the three letter word mentioned above. Labeling Boys Night Out as part of the emo wave is inevitable. And as one, immediately there's a big old X floating around. Second - the overall experience of the album as a whole. It takes being a really good artist to prove that your name as the title is actually worth being there. These Canadian boys just missed it a bit, though they were spot on with "Trainwreck". They don't bring much new to an already over-crowded table.
Luckily, this group which started out with screams, bare teeth and overlong song titles has assured it can move with the times and surf the sound pollution wave well. If you can take some nasal vocals in, suck up some catchy guitar melodies and are sure enough of your sexuality to put a yellow/pink album in your stack – fun times are promised. Meanwhile, "Trainwreck"'s supremacy gained yet another reinforcement.
Ofer Vayner
