Boy Kills Boy again... and again... and again...

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Boy Kills Boy again... and again... and again...

May 15th 2006 03:12

Artist Review

Of late there has a huge influx of indie rock, both British and American. Franz Ferdinand and the Killers were the first to hit it big with this genre, bringing 70 and 80s influences ala Cure and Depeche Mode in a fresh light, and hooking people on something that wasn't always original but was good enough to become a hit. Then, of course, came others with the mild successes of Bloc Party, the Bravery, We Are Scientists and, more recently, Arctic Monkeys. Unfortunately, when these trends come around, there won't always be newcomers with original ideas. In fact, at times some bands seem like pure ripoffs. While Boy Kill Boy aren't a ripoff of any specific band from this genre, they are definitely aren't true originals.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with copying, in part or in full, ideas from other bands - heck it's been happening for the last 100 years, with whites stealing the music of blacks, Americans stealing the music of the British, and Coldplay stealing ideas from anyone from David Bowie to Radiohead. But it seems that in this particular case, Boy Kill Boy are more a cumulation of the aforementioned successes more than they are their own band. They use the electronic-infused pop pioneered by the Killers and the Bravery, mix in the vocals of Bloc Party and We Are Scientists, along with the poppy guitar riffs of Franz Ferdinand, and emerge with the attitude of Arctic Monkeys. While they are great to listen to, it gets to the point where it seems like you're listening to the same stuff over and over.

Their site doesn't lie when they say the album is "brazenly alive" - The first two tracks, Back Again and On and On do not prepare listener's in any way, preferring instead to blast their ears with catchy 80's-influenced electronic riffs. Chris Peck's vocals have a slight Muse-character about them, quivering ever so slightly for that vibrato feel, and the choir harmonies in the chorus of Back Again complement his vocals, artificial yet adding that extra layer. The same is true of On and On, vastly contrasting the choir harmonies of the chorus to the basic and beautiful verses, which uses strings and piano in a way that instantly reminded me of the Bravery, with that slight British tinge added.

While the first two tracks are a little too similar for comfort, the third track Suzie is a true pop hit reminiscent of the Killer's Mr. Brightside,

Peck making his vocals far more snappy and almost obnoxious to suit the style. The next two tracks follow a similar style, making me think they were written in the same drug-induced night. But Boy Kill Boy's emotional side appears from the midst of emotionless and fairly standard pop songs in the form of Ivy Parker, a piano-based song that aspires to the standard pioneered by such British soft-rock bands as Athlete and Keane, only to fall short.

The intro of the next track, Civil Sin is very promising, again reminiscent of Mr Brightside (but this time fairly pepped up on drugs), but dies as soon as the vocals kick in. As the album moves on, it becomes fairly evident that the Cure is becoming more and more of an influence, with tracks like Killer and Friday sounding like they could have been done by the Cure themselves, provided they hadn't recently down the path of no returns with their recent self-titled album (listen to it and you'll know what I mean). While the former track is pretty unbearable, Friday is pretty good, making me proud that music is slowly returning to the 80s, complete with appropriate harmonies that would make every 80s pop-band proud.

The last track of the album, Shoot Me Down signifies another crack at the soft-rock genre, and this time it is far more solid. Unfortunately, it falls short in the chorus, becoming rather bland and boring. The highlight of the album is actually the secret track, a slow ballad which is rather unique in the way that it uses acoustic guitar and harpsichord, a rather bold move but one that definitely works.

Boy Kill Boy are obviously an amateur band still. Like Chili Peppers in their "Freaky Styley" days, they are looking for a musical mentor to guide them through the difficult stage of finding their musical comfort zone and, like Chili Peppers, they have resorted to copying these mentors. While Chili Peppers found George Clinton, and recreated his music piece by piece, Boy Kill Boy followed in the footsteps of the Killers, the Bravery, Athlete and a host of others in an attempt to create a snapshot of the 80s, while at the same time moving into the slow-rock arena. While this is not a bad attempt for a debut album, they certainly have a fair way to go, but once their style adapts to the right magnitude, perhaps they can achieve a similar status to the Killers and Franz Ferdinand.

LINKS

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"Back Again" is a pretty good song for a few listens.

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