Boston Manor
Be Nothing

Boston Manor is not only a manor in the London area; it is also a British rock band within the punkrock genre. A band that have just released their debut album called Be Nothing, I wonder if that is a reflection on their ambitions – I know it reflects mine. It has a guy jumping into the water on the cover and nothing that really gives away the style just by looking at the cover, not a cover that makes me want to buy the album though. Perhaps if I had heard their previous EP things could be different.

Punkrock, emo or something in that regard is how you can describe their style in genre terms. Straightforward tempo filled rocking hard music is what we are getting – kind of typical to the more popular style of pop-punk but perhaps with a touch of melancholy and darker thoughts just to add a little spice to the concoction. Great sound, a vocalist that sounds rather like they do in this genre, and it is short and to the point just like you want an album like this to be.

I think it presses the right buttons for the fans of this genre with strong songs and performances, great production and all of that. I think the video track Laika could be considered my highlight of this album even though I think that none of the tracks really stand out – in fact the album itself doesn’t really stand out amongst the competition, I would rate it somewhere just above the average. Good but nothing that shouts: “listen to me!” it does the job and those who get it will probably enjoy it but soon forget it when the next shiny new and good album in this genre arrives which it probably already has.

Yeah, Boston Manor makes a strong debut and there are clues to indicate that they have something interesting within them, maybe they won’t be nothing in the future but that is if they dare to do more. I think they need to step out of the box and not stick too much to conventions as they do now, if they do I have no doubt in my mind that Be Something will be a good title for a coming album.

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