In a time where pop punk is not a genre in which an artist can stand out, littered with recycled songs and generic, formulaeic themes; Boston Manor have propelled themselves head and shoulders above other bands in this market with their 2018 release, ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’. The quintet comprises of singer Henry Cox, guitarist Ash Wilson, brothers Mike and Dan Cunniff on guitar and bass, and drummer Jordan Pugh – and after signing to Pure Noise records in 2015, have leaped from strength to strength.
Photo courtesy of KERRANG!
Paying homage to their hometown, Blackpool, the album reflects perfectly on the once electric seaside resort – once infested with great nightlife and flocking tourists, the town now offers very little, other than a dated theme park and a dingy, grey coastline. And it is along this coastline that our journey begins, with frontman Henry Cox, our tour guide.
A melancholic, drone-like synth intro gives way to hip-hop style electronic drums, already a removal from the band’s previous offering ‘Be Nothing’. Lead singer, Cox, croons “Life under the boardwalk, people down here talk” to kick-start the title track, ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’. The opener carries an eerie, almost ethereal presence – as he tells us “Welcome to the neighbourhood, if you could leave, you would”.
As the synths ring out of the album’s inaugural track, the band waste little time in delivering the first real punch to the stomach of the record. This comes with the clunky guitars and the metronomic drum beat of ‘Flowers In Your Dustbin’. Awash with lead guitars reminiscent of old sci-fi movies, its clear by this point that Boston Manor are not suffering at the hands the old foe, ‘second album syndrome’.
One stadium-sized chorus later, and we arrive at ‘Halo’, the lead single from the album, and for good reason. An unrelenting take on heroin addiction, Cox spits “Here we are again, a thick brown belt’s on my arm again”; with the routine colossal chorus to boot, of course.
Another nod to their hometown, instrumental interlude ‘FY1’, named after the postal code of Blackpool, fades into the calm before the storm of ‘Stick Up’, a playful comparison of Blackpool to the wild west. Hard-hitting lyricism and vocal delivery, accompanied by the forceful guitar work of Wilson and Cunniff, make this one of the album’s standout tracks.
As the acoustic guitars of the record’s beautiful yet haunting finale, ‘The Day That I Ruined Your Life’, ring out, it is apparent that Boston Manor have released an incredible piece of art in Welcome To The Neighbourhood, and definitely boast the potential to become one of alternative music’s prized assets.
Listen to ‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’ now.
Soundz Magazine 