By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa
Album Review: Boston Manor’s Welcome to the Neighborhood-Label-Pure Noise Records-Release date September 7, 2018
Rock At Night gave Boston Manor’s second studio album Welcome to the Neighborhood a listen and boy, it is really raw and gritty! The Blackpool band is really hitting a chord by singing about the seedy side and hopelessness of life for the Millennials. Lead vocalist Henry Cox says, “In the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, Blackpool was this booming town. It was a holiday destination, a place where you can go to forget all your troubles and now things here are just so fucked up–there are huge drug problems and a 40 per cent unemployment rate in the winter. It was once this beautiful thing and it’s become a little bit broken.”
Songs like “Halo” describe the dark, grungy details of a junkie shooting up and “Stick Up” describes a gun robbery. “Welcome to the Neighborhood”, with its synths and hip-hop influences, describes the seedy underbelly of a neighborhood. Again, “Flowers” delivers in a hard-driving rock fashion and uses metaphors of disillusionment and hopelessness of life today for young people. More social commentary ensues with dark and grungy “England’s Dreaming” and “Funeral Party”. “Tunnel Vision” and “If I Can’t Have It No One Can” are delivered in a fast-paced, pop-punk fashion. Alt rock songs “Hate You” and “The Day I Ruined Your Life” carry on the album’s darkness theme into social commentary about relationships.
Stand-outs in the album are “Welcome to the Neighborhood” and “Bad Machine”, which starts with an acoustic guitar and then melds into a hard-driving, infectious, and dark wonder. I love this album! It has all the raw richness of post-punk music but with a grungy alt-rock feel. The band is going to be on tour soon in the US this fall alongside REAL FRIENDS, GRAYSCALE, and EAT YOUR HEART OUT between October 17 and November 25. Check out this album!
THE BAND: Henry Cox (Vocals), Mike Cunniff (Guitar), Ash Wilson (Guitar), Can Cunniff (Bass), and Jordan Pugh (Drums)
TRACK LIST
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Flowers In Your Dustbin
Halo
England’s Dreaming
Funeral Party
Digital Ghost
Tunnel Vision
Bad Machine
If I Can’t Have It No One Can
Hate You
FY1
Stick Up
The Day I Ruined Your Life
Videos
SPOTIFY
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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