Boasting some of our favourites such as Counterparts, Four Year Strong, Seaway and State Champs, Pure Noise Records are renowned for signing acts that pure and simply go on to smash it. Their latest acquisition are Blackpool’s Pop-Punk, Emo quintet Boston Manor, their new release ‘Saudade’ hitting stores on November 20th.
‘Saudade’ translates to a deep melancholy and a longing for something or someone, sometimes for something or someone you’ve never experienced or met before, but with an added twist that you know that person or thing may never come into your life. Kind of like ‘the grass is always greener’ but with a heightened air of opulence. Boston Manor are immediately laying the gauntlet, that they are poetically deep thinkers and that Pop-Punk is shifting and developing; the mirage of past lovers lost and lovers craved still there but with an increased intensity. Lyrics such as ‘We’ll play hide & seek with the world on the other team” exactly describing that almost insane euphoria you have with someone who at that moment represents the ying for your yang.
Vocalist Henry Cox has one of those voices you just wish you had. That curl of the tongue, and throaty panache which will more than likely take these boys from Blackpool and propel them to stardom. This is non more true than in ‘Trapped Nerve’, the intro vocals of “Wide awake from the pain in your neck” both powerful and poignant. The chorus is laced with enough emotional dynamite to blow a serious hole in the scene, the percussion faultless, amid the ticky-tacky guitar licks, before the vocals pull back into town, energy levels maintained for its entirety, through sheer will and execution.
Opening track ‘Gone’ further consolidates this band as one’s to watch out for and to catch before they go interstellar, ticket touts already rubbing their hands together with glee. ‘Asleep At The Wheel’ offers a faster percussion part, the diction and dexterity of Cox impeccable, every word punching a new hole in the listeners heart and mind. These guys are going to be right up there in the UK’s already buzzing scene, it’s just whether they can stay buoyant amidst the other floating ships. Time will tell, and the pressure mounts already on the quality and standard of a full length, which presumably they will release through Pure Noise as well.
‘Shade’ finishes off the EP, a highly emotive nod to romance, the crispness of the snare feeling like being dunked in a wintry sea, the chorus warming you up from the inside out. Cox’s spoken word parts are immense, his dulcet tone being overlaid with a high energy scream. If they sound like this live, they will tear everyone a new one over the next 12 months.
If there is something missing in your life that you keep thinking you want or need, but aren’t quite sure who or what that is, perhaps check out Boston Manor. It might just be the solution.
DAVE BULL