Boys Like Girls
Hello? Am I the only person on the planet not to have paid any ’proper’ attention to Boys Like Girls up until their new album landed on my desk? Wow, I really need to put the Nightwish back catalogue away and get down with the kids.
Apparently these are the next big thing, or the current big thing if you like what you read in the music magazines, and their new album doesn’t disappoint me, I mean, how can four cute guys go wrong when it comes to making pop fuelled punk rock? It worked for Blink 182 and New Found Glory after all - well, there aren’t four hot guys in either of those bands though, so I guess that’s an unfair comparison. But there you go.
So, I'm still at that point where I can't differentiate one song from another quite yet, I know you know what I mean, you get a CD, don’t really know the band and can’t tell which song is which - but I’m going to try, just for you guys….
Not a fan of the opening 10 seconds of Heart Heart Heartbreak though, it feels like I’m listening to a Adam Lambert meets Bon Jovi whilst swallowing a huge synthesiser. Once you into the chorus it’s pretty good though, I suppose I’m just bitter since Lambert came out as gay, I guess I can’t really blame Boys Like Girls for that, I mean with a name like ‘Boys Like GIRLS’ I could assume they were doing all they can to hook me up…
From giving the album a once over though, what I have gathered thus far is they like to appeal to folk of all ages, the songs they have on offer here can give my kid sister and her boyfriend something to listen to as they sip Lambrini on the park swings near our old house, whilst at the same time can also provide backing vocals to my epic sing-alongs on the way to and from work - and We The Kings’ CD is getting a bit old now, so I need something new.
They’re also bound to get a bit of recognition from all the Disney fans out there as they’ve pulled in good old Taylor Swift for a bit of a jig on the track, Two Is Better Than One. It’s good, mainly because I like Taylor’s voice and she appeared in an episode of CSI at the weekend and I listened to her album last night, so I’m in the TS fan club this week.
With a name like Love Drunk, I already feared the album would make me want to pull my ears off - I just assumed it was taking inspiration from the Black Eyed Peas - a band which I really cant stand - but luckily the guys doesn’t go on to encourage you to get “love drunk off my humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps,” but whilst the record itself doesn’t stand out head and shoulders above a lot of the available these days - so those who want to be ‘different’ had better stick to listening to Florence And The Machine and those other ‘off the wall for the sake of it’ types - but it will surely go down well with those kids who borrow their grandma’s clothes, grab their hair when dancing and wear those annoying glasses with no lenses in.
Okay, that’s harsh, in all; it’s a great album for anyone who likes the kind of guitar-led pop punk that’s on offer these days and there’s nothing offensive or dislikeable about the album, so you might as well give it a whirl, you can always sell it on eBay if your not impressed… but it’s going in the car CD player tonight, and that’s a big deal in my world (as you can see, I don’t have a very exciting life) so get amongst it, or I’ll give you a lift and you can sample it for free.
Rating. 4.5/5 - Good effort. When I learn all the words it might go up to 5.
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison