Boys Night Out Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
Rather uniquely for a band of its generation and shared set of influences, the increasingly derogatory stylistic tags of emo and screamo really do feel like unjustified misnomers when applied to a group with as much effortless and -- most notably -- uncluttered songwriting instincts as Ontario's Boys Night Out. Their eponymous third album may not reinvent any wheel or apparatus of this Earth, but its songs do evince a power pop simplicity and sensibility that's sorely lacking within their normally self-obsessed and pretentiously indulgent peers. In fact, pristine singles such as "Get Your Head Straight" and "The Push and Pull" share a timeless historical bond that can be traced back to everyone from Big Star to Redd Kross to numerous discreet '80s new wave-isms -- whether you think they're anywhere near as classic or not. It's all a matter of philosophy, really, and, if so inclined, one could focus entirely on the bad habits Boys Night Out don't succumb to in their work (instrumental masturbation, hysterical yelping, whiny love lyrics, long-winded jokey song titles, etc.). Even the worrisomely named "Let Me Be Your Swear Word" proves to be an earnest and even clever essay on alcoholism, and the similarly themed "Fall for the Drinker" unexpectedly evokes Thom Yorke and Radiohead with its dreamy, deliberate gait, before building up into a singalong of "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" proportions (reprised for the album's coda by the mostly acoustic "It Won't Be Long"). And even though there certainly are a few tracks ("Swift and Unforgiving," "Hey, Thanks," and "Apartment") distinctly lacking for a little more oomph in their execution, the album's overall balance is overwhelmingly positive at the end of the day. One hopes that Boys Night Out's well-wrought, understated talents will sound like a revelation to their usually overstimulated young fan base, rather than an overdose of sleeping pills. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Boys Night Out returns with an expanded form of the sound it debuted on the 2002 EP Broken Bones and Bloody Kisses. Make Yourself Sick (Ferret) initially paints the Canadian combo as a pop-punk band, with an upbeat pace and catchy tunes about soft-focus stuff like youthful love and heartbreak. However, the band also shares metalcore's love of jarring aesthetic shifts, not to mention screamo vocals. The result is a song like "I Got Punched in the Nose for Sticking My Face in Other People's Business" (only the first of many cheeky song titles), which begins as an exuberant Get Up Kids-style anthem full of giddy lead guitar and boyish lead vocals, but is periodically visited by the tortured, shrieking spirits of screamo. "First Time It Shouldn't Taste Like Blood", "Decent Human Beings", and "I Was the Devil for One Afternoon" all follow suit, tempering their rousing emo and slick punk revivalism with tooth-shattering yowls and severe sonic shifts. Tracks like "Anatomy of a Journey" and "Hold on Tightly, Let's Go Lightly are even more ambitious, incorporating elements as disparate as drum programming, pious church organ, digital vocal tuning, and solemn choirs alongside the usual banshee screams and sweeping melody. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
