Review Summary: Boy from the Crowd inject some blues into their punky appearance, making for a refreshing and enjoyable debut EP.
London garage rockers Boy from The Crowd introduce themselves with an overdrive drenched, ballsy punk lick that perhaps best describes who and what they are. They play an anthem driven, Wipers influenced club punk that sacrifices some of its rawness and speed in favor of a blues-oriented melodic approach. Not to say that Boy from the Crowd doesn’t bring the punk, but they meld it with jammy blues solos and progressions. The solo towards the end of opener “Revelator” kicks *** without breaking any boundaries, but rules regardless. It sounds like it was ripped right from 70s hard rock 101, but succeeds because of how it well it captures that sound.
“All I Need” really brings the blues elements into the forefront. The chorus is beautifully sung, noisy guitars bounce effortlessly into a softer, blues influenced interlude, and despite being slightly overlong, really leaves an impact. Man, that chorus is huge.
“The Road” is a quick one that is perhaps the most obvious hybrid of punk and blues on the EP, echoing british blues in the verses until some album-highlight guitar solos. Somehow they cram in two separate guitar shreds into this tiny track but pace it well enough that it doesn’t ever feel like a wankfest. The solos are played carefully note for note, and the melodies are oh-so- bright and engaging without feeling copy/paste. It’s hard not hum them afterwards.
Closing track “Where the Bees come to Die” is a tad disappointing despite some lovely guitar noodling. It’s a simple, slowed down stoner/blues progression that doesn’t embrace the punk element that would have ended the EP on a high note. It probably should have been placed in the middle for pacing, but unfortunately closes the album. You sort of wish that “The Road” closed the EP, the punk progressions and frantic shredding would have sounded even better following the cautious, bluesy instrumental that instead finished the record.
Boy from the Crowd show tremendous potential on their EP by showcasing a knack for the punk/blues popularized by The Gun Club and Nick Cave in his early days. Taking punk rock and fusing it with that touch of blues can go a long way, giving you the best of a raw garage feel but streamlined with catchy blues licks that sometimes even channel Jimi Hendrix. Boy from the Crowd have some work to do, but with tracks like “All I Need” and “The Road” prove they can shred you up blues style, but also throw out some feedback-ridden punk that you can’t help but tap your foot to.
