Boys Boys Boys! - Yes

Wed 29th Jul, 2009 in Music Reviews

A little over 12 months ago pop-rockers Boys Boys Boys! were jumping around onstage in front of empty dance floors. But they’ve proved it’s not hard to find an audience in Perth with the right material and a little persistence. Their debut album, Yes is the same bright and sugary blend of straight up pop-rock and dancy 80s synthpop which, when taken with their onstage antics, gained them such popularity on the local gig circuit.

Transforming their onstage energy into a record is one of the most significant challenges faced by live bands like Boys. But they’ve retained the spirit of their live performances well through the heavy use of instruments like the cowbell, handclaps and tambourines throughout the entire album, and driven it home on tracks like The Prawn, where listeners are invited to dance and sing along with them.

However the real strength of the album is derived from its simple, hooky, pop-rock flavour. Yes feels like a dysfunctional Christmas Day. It’s bucket-loads of fast paced fun thrown up in an erratic matter, most evident with the guitar riff on Ticky-Ticky Boom and the synth loops in Super Nintendo. This album is what pop music is all about; simple, catchy hooks and melodies that get listeners on their feet.

But there isn’t much diversity in terms of style, and the lyrics can at times make the songs seem a little too gimmicky. The dreamy synth and vocals featured on Mountains signals a temporary departure from the band’s main body of work, but with nothing else on the album to support it, and its downbeat tempo and length, the song signifies more of an out of place pause rather than stylistic diversity.

In this way Boys suffer from the same ailment as many similar pop-rock outfits. As the album is virtually devoid of any lyrical or instrumental intricacy, the songs have only a very limited mileage. It is not an album to which you’ll be returning time and again.

But as far as debuts go, it lays a good foundation. They probably won’t get away with making much more of the same, and you won’t be listening to Yes for a long time, but it’s fun while it lasts.