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Can't keep 'em down: Boyracer's back again with this 8-song EP from last summer, and not only are they better than ever, with some of their finest popcraft yet (and that's saying something), they're pulling some real surprises out from up their sleeves. The disc kicks off with the familiar strum-n-fuzz of "Louise," and moves on to the playful pop of "The Sadness in You," which contains the disc's first surprise: a psychedelic guitar solo! "The Second Fiddle" ups the surprise ante considerably, not only with its folky guitar picking and tympani (!) but its epic, nearly-6-minute length. There's plenty of crazy, damaged guitar noise there, though, so don't be too alarmed. This is followed by the surfy and insanely catchy 1 1/2 minute instrumental "Roubideaux," which cleanses the palate nicely for the more familiar, but no less excellent, sounds of "I Love Accents" and "Smile on Cue," tracks which put the focus on Stewart Anderson's typically trenchant lyrics. Closing track "Tell Me What You Want (Then Tell Me What You Need)" keeps the needles buried in the red and the fuzz on 11, right through—gasp—the closing, twin backwards guitar solos! It would be psychedelic again if it weren't so serrated. Is the Arizona sun geting to UK-transplant Stewart? I don't know, but I'm not complaining—none of these new sounds are unwelcome, and none of them feel like missteps. This disc is pure excellence from start to finish, and it could be my favorite release yet in Boyracer's voluminous discography. (mike.01.06)
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I have been a big Boyracer fan for years and years, so I was very excited when we received this, their most recent full-length disc (actually, they're so prolific, there might even be a newer one by now). However, when I first popped it in a few months ago, in all honesty it seemed kind of lackluster to me. I thought, "What has happened to my Boyracer? Or is it me?" and I put it aside for a little while. Now I've pulled it out again, though, and this time I'm like "Geez, what was wrong with me? This is just great!"
This disc features 23 tracks stuffed into under 37 minutes. If you're familiar with Boyracer's reckless, fuzzed-out crash-pop sound, you'll know what to expect here. The lyrics still tend toward the personal vignettes, and that trademark snarky Boyracer wit is still here as well: how can you go wrong with song titles like "I Thought Even More of You When You Told Me You Wanted Me Dead" and "I Was the Drummer in Altered Images"? Not every song on here will get stuck in your head, but more importantly every song has something to say, and if you don't fancy a track you won't have to wait very long for the next one. The word "belabored" is not in the Boyracer vocabulary; their modus operandi has always been get the idea down and move on. It's this immediacy that is at the heart of Boyracer's music; more than almost any other band I can think of, it comes straight from their hearts, through their amps, to your ears. (mike.03.05)
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