Boysetsfire - The MiseryIndex: Notes From ThePlague Years

Mon 6th Mar, 2006 in Music Reviews

It has been near on three years since the last Boysetsfiie album, Tomorrow Come Today, first saw the light of day. After the influence both that album and 2000’s After The Eulogy had on modern hardcore there were some serious expectations on this new slab that many believed could not be lived up to.

Previous record label, Wind Up, were one bunch to doubt the Delaware 5 piece. As was the case with the band’s first two albums, Tomorrow Come Today was also to become another one-record stand when Wind Up said yes to recording, then no, yes again, no again, before sounding like a Little Britain character and again saying yes… then no.

Burning Heart, the home to hardcore legends Refused, T(I)NC and Millencolin amongst others, thankfully saw where the guys were coming from and put out this record. So here we are, up to record number 4, a new label, and it’s old news now but bassist Rob Avery (who actually recorded After The Eulogy for them) left soon after the release of TCT.

And the hype? From the first line the immediate thought is, “Yep, this is going to suck pretty bad”, when the song appears to be nothing more than an acoustic guitar and lead singer Josh’s soft, harmonising vocals. Honestly, soft and acoustic isn’t exactly their forte, and if the rest of the album were to be in this vein then I’d probably be at the medical centre getting my bloodied ears treated rather than writing this here review. Well thank the gods that after the painfully slow one and a half minutes the BSF crew rip into some of the hardest and most aggressive music seen from these guys in quite a while.

Like with each new album they bring out, this also makes progressions and sails into previously unchartered waters. Track 3, Final Communique is frantic, never halting for a breather, it is pure and raw energy. Along with the fast pace and power, it does not even last 2 whole minutes.

The lyrics are intense, passionate, and most important of all the lyrics are honest. As they go on to explain in their bio, ”[Boysetsfire] are left with some scars to show after the last 2 years and yet, able to create a record that means much much more than just another release.” Accompanying the lyrics, printed in the booklet is what is now apparent to be the “notes from the plague years” mentioned in the album’s title. It’s an interesting little read, if you dig the whole political band rant thing and/or agree with what they’re saying. It’s kind of a letter to the fans, explaining in sparse detail as to how the material on the album came to be.

Part of the reason Wind Up never took up a first album option after Tomorrow Come Today is that they claimed “we can’t hear a single.” I don’t think anyone ever really thought of them as a singles band to begin with, and for the most part the album provides little in the way of single type material but who cares? If radio played this kind of stuff we’d already be listening to that rather than buying and listening to albums, right?

Falling Out Theme is huge in sound. There are the dramatic cries, calm and softly spoken words, howls, double-kicks in the rhythm of machine guns, snarling guitars and bass that pounds like a thousand tennis balls shot at your chest in quick succession.

More new sounds are explored on So Long… And Thanks For The Crutches, this time they’ve explored the use of horns. Bugger me, how goddamn unreal does this sound?! It works unbelievably well, who would have though horns and hardcore would, let alone even could ever consider being used together.?

Production is excellent. It’s been evident on a lot of releases lately to keep recordings sounding real, almost as if the band walked in the studio, plugged in together and played live from start to finish, except everything is clear and distinguishable. It makes it feel real, and therefore makes it nothing short of a pleasure and very easy to listen to from start to finish.

If you were ever a fan of this band then get your hands on it, it’s diverse enough to reach all points in their career yet refrain from being a derivative. For those who haven’t yet been properly introduced to them, get this!