Datura as a record, was brilliant. Full of punchy punk vocals, crunchy riffs and some of the most inventive and captivating production, Boston Manor should now be on everyone's radar as a band to watch. Trawling the Brighton scene since 2013, Boston Manor have earnt their bones as a mainstay in the punk community - and have released a brand new track Container. If I'm honest, I have no idea if this is part of the announced part two for Datura or not, but either which way I'm pumped to see new music from these4 guys. So here's my breakdown and review of their latest song, Container.
(Container Album Art - Boston Manor 2024)
The opening is really suspenseful. Nice wailing guitars and spoken lyrics and a gentle tapping on the hi-hat really create a nice layered feel to this track even in the earliest of stages. Vocalist Henry Cox is taking a more straightforward vocal approach in this opener, and I like it, it draws the listener in to the world of the song and it's lyrics, before breaking into a chorus section. It's instrumentally rich, the guitar blasts as the drums hold steady behind them. The vocal delivery is also brilliant, there's that familiar punk bite and venom on some words, and on others this vocal strain that's a touch odd, but works in the wider context of this track and its sound. The guitar tone is crunchy, and makes me genuinely curious to find out what rig guitarist Ash Wilson is running. The chorus slices into a really nice almost halftime verse, it's really smooth and lets the wailing guitar leave some space for some nice drum grooves to shine. I just wish these verses were allowed a little room to breathe - the song is very chorus heavy, which is no issue, but when the verses are so captivating, I feel left wanting more form those really cool and different moments. This added chorus moment however bleeds classic Boston Manor, with those brilliant layered vocal effects bringing back known motifs from their past work - you know these guys will never loose sight of where they came from, and that's always evident in their style. It creates a very muddled and tortured soundscape, full of clashing instruments and tormented vocals with some brilliant crashing symbols and slamming guitar. Off the back of that immense sequence the track is instantly stripped back, leaving you to Cox's smooth vocals, and once again hitting into it's final chorus.
Overall: I like this track. The band clearly has one foot set firmly in their old style, with the vocoded and distorted vocals and their signature brand of attack, but there's also another foot in the threshold of something new. Turning away from the darkness of Datura at it's core this is a song about second chances, built and tailored to the sounds of wailing guitar and crashing drums. There's a brightness to this song sonically that's hard not to feel, and makes me extremely excited to see where this goes - whether that's on the part 2 of their latest release, or simply standing on it's own.
Rating: 4/5
Comentarios