MUSIC REVIEW: BOSTON MANOR – Welcome To The Neighbourhood

Label: Pure Noise Records

Release Date: September 7, 2018

Rating: 9/10

Reviewed by: Rachel Craig

Boston Manor’s upcoming album Welcome To The Neighbourhood is a dark and brooding update to the band’s familiar pop-punk sound. This is their second full-length album, and it uses their hometown of Blackpool to paint a bleak picture that transports listeners to a place that seems familiar to anyone who’s reluctantly needed to just get away. The album begins with the track “Welcome To The Neighbourhood,” giving listeners a literal welcome to the album’s theme by saying “if you could leave, you would” with ethereal guitars and haunting synthesizers. My favorite songs on the album are definitely the darker and heavier tracks, including “Bad Machine,” “England’s Dreaming,” and “Halo.” The album is also packed with great songs that longtime Boston Manor fans will easily recognize for their pop-punk catchy choruses and bass-laden riffs, like “Flowers In Your Dustbin,” “Tunnel Vision,” and “Stick Up.” In fact, Boston Manor seems to be the master of catchy choruses. The album concludes with “The Day I Ruined Your Life,” which is very fitting for its lyrics: “I hope you had a lovely day & cherished our final week. Can hardly look you in the eye, cause I have got to pick the day that I ruin your life.” It fades into a heavy – and not happy – ending.

Boston Manor definitely deserves a nod for the lyrics on Welcome To The Neighbourhood. “Flowers In Your Dustbin” also has some of my favorite lines: “There’s a puddle & a missing tooth. I threw up blood in the fountain of youth. I don’t have a place, I don’t have a home. I take my meds, I live through my phone. If I’m a flower in your dustbin, then you’re the pesticide on me.” Overall, this album sets a tone that will be perfect for this fall, carrying a bleak depiction of society and its impact on young people. It works well for listening in one sitting, and the individual songs are also catchy enough to enjoy individually. The only drawback I can find is that a lot of songs have a similar sound and feeling, but it’s not a bad thing. This album is not necessarily a pop-punk record, it’s heavy and contemplative and every song sounds like it’s been crafted to fit the band’s new sound. Boston Manor seems to feel more at home in this “neighbourhood” and it’s a welcome change.

Tracklisting: Welcome To The Neighbourhood – 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

BOSTON MANOR LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD – ITUNES

Category: CD Reviews