I’m back from India. There’s a lot that needs to be said, but not a lot of point in saying in, but let’s go ahead anyway. Rihanna’s ripped of M.I.A., Owl City have got the commercial success that successfully imitating a decent Postal Service b-side deserves and all pop music is starting to sound like a sugared up mix of dubstep, 80’s pop and average voiced female singers.
If you look for beauty though, you’ll find it – or sometimes it will find you. Sometime in February I got sent a little email from a man called Dominic telling me of a little 50’s/60’s surf pop band he’s put together in Manchester. As if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also got an animal in their name – the holy grail. Predictably, they’re excellent, coming across with the confident fragility that made Girls Album so perfect, with riffs and rhythm so sweet they’ll nearly make you sick. Filter in some fuzzy, distorted vocals seeming to ing about the usual love stories and heartbreak, add in some crashing percussion and it’s complete. The bands influences are rightly worn on their sleeve, with Best Coast and the Vivian Girls sharing the bands ‘top friends’ on myspace with Connie Francis and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas.
Comparisons to other new upstarts treading similar ground are inevitable, but whilst Spectrals are much more difficult to define and Weird Era beautifully crafted a route more down the noise side of pop with Side A, there’s more than enough room for Boy or Bison to scratch a following. There selection of tunes might, thus far, be a little sparse, but don’t let that put you off. It’s wonderful, it’s sundrenched and will stay long in the mind. Let it wash over you.
Boy or Bison – Make me go
Boy or Bison – Spiderman
i’m glad ur back!
Welcome back Matt! Do share some of your India stories.
Nice to have you back, fancy going for a curry?
‘They write songs about sci-fi and heartbreak’ = What more could anyone want!
welcome back! you were missed!