Review Summary: “Post-rock, but not post-rock enough for post-rock fans;
screamo, but not screamo enough for screamo fans;
post-hardcore, but not post-hardcore enough for post-hardcore fans.”
The Fall of Boss Koala were an ambitious screamo band from the inhospitable highlands of Dundee, Scotland. Much like the eponymous koala leader, the band ultimately ‘fell’ in 2006, deciding to call it a day after their bassist “left to go on to do other things.” As a result of their limited success and appeal, surviving information concerning the band is scarce and exists largely on out-dated social networking sites such as MySpace. Perhaps the most striking piece of information from their profile is this stark, defeated admission of inadequacy:
“Post-rock, but not post-rock enough for post-rock fans;
screamo, but not screamo enough for screamo fans;
post-hardcore, but not post-hardcore enough for post-hardcore fans.”
With these simple words The Fall of Boss Koala perhaps analyse themselves better than any bored, adolescent reviewer in his bedroom ever could. ‘Reference Points’ is full of moments of brilliance, and utilises a diverse, ambitious range of influences; but ultimately fails to be more than simply the sum of its parts.
While there are moments of genuine talent and intrigue on ‘Reference Points’, they are threaded together poorly, and so the album as a whole suffers. All too often crescendos seem hurried and inefficient and result in abrupt dynamic shifts which are uncomfortable rather than exciting. This is particularly the case throughout
‘No, Everything’s Not Alright’ as its numerous motifs are not given ample time to develop and each change feels forced. The transitions in
‘I Love My Dead Gay Son (Part 1)’ are executed slightly better, although the more intense codas which follow beautifully meandering guitar notes are perhaps not as forceful as they could have been. Furthermore, the crescendos are one-dimensional and predictable, forfeiting any catharsis they might otherwise have affected.
The poor structuring on ‘Reference Points’ is a great shame because there
are passages which are extremely proficient in their own right – they are just not connected well. The progression of mournful bass notes at the beginning of
‘End of the World’ are genuinely affecting; as is some of the aggressive tremolo picking in
‘I Love My Dead Gay Son (Part 2)’ – especially when counterpointed by mesmerising lead parts. Unfortunately there are also passages which are not up to standard. Generally speaking, the ‘screamo’ side of the band’s music is not performed as well as it could have been, with the more aggressive guitar parts sounding clichéd and dull. The screams, also, are poorly performed throughout; while the cleaner vocals are of the whinier variety and as such are extremely annoying when they are used. The ‘post-rock’ side of things is better, though is still flawed– the long tremolos at the end of ‘…Dead Gay Son (Part 1)’ are especially grating, and the persistent structural inadequacies, for example.
To put it bluntly the structural composition of ‘Reference Points’ is simply not up to the standard required by the better bands in the genre. The album is brimming with individual potential, but its numerous moments of brilliance are clumsily linked and the result is an awkwardly incomplete whole. ‘Reference Points’ is also let down by its screamo tendencies – its post-rockier moments range from pleasantly proficient to genuinely engaging. Thus, ultimately the belief that The Fall of Boss Koala would have been better without the generic screams and ineffective guitar parts is inescapable.
