Ah, 'The Boy Least Likely To', how we love thee! I thought I'd talk about these today, since I've got tickets to see them tomorrow (*does happy James dance*) so I'd thought I'd introduce them, then try and do a review of the gig tomorrow. Sound good? Ok, on we go...
Hailing from the middle of Buckinghamshire, the two musos that make up the band are responsible for some of the most infectiously happy pop I've come across in a long long time. Acoustic guitars, xylophones, banjos and a touch of bleepy-boop electro drive the tunes along, and their songs run from quiet acoustic numbers (the heart-breaking 'my tiger my heart') to full blown dance-around-looking-like-a-pillock tunes ('when life gives me lemons, I make lemonade').
As good as the music itself it is, the most noticible thing of this lot is the lyrics. As wierd an image as it might be, this is music written by a 5-year old bipolar drug addict. One minute lead singer Jof Owen will be singing about sticking pencils up his nose, then in the next breath he is complaining about how he will never amount to anything, before wandering back onto the topic of drug-abuse and fluffy toy animals. Lyrics like 'I know i look shiny and bouncy, but i'm all empty inside' (talking about a bright red balloon!) or 'I'm happy 'cause I'm stupid' just drive home the image of the band as a group of manic-depressives barely controlled by happy pills. I'm sure they're actually a lovely bunch of people, but i'm a sucker for slef-depricating lyrics, so I really like their style.
Their debut - 'The best party ever' was released waaaaaaay back in 2002, and they took their sweet time getting the follow-up out, but it was finally released this month. Once again it is a fantastic piece of work, with an emphasis on some truely beautiful violin lines. Lemme point you towards some of thier stuff, so you can make your own mind up -
Be Gentle With Me
Every Goliath Has Its David
A Balloon On A Broken String
Truly stonking stuff! I'd heartily recommend it to anyone when they're having a bad day - a little listen to these tunes will perk you right up!
J
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