Continuing on from their punchy and gloomy second album Welcome To The Neighbourhood, Boston Manor are back as raw and ferocious as ever. Glue is the band's third full-length record, and after seeing their electric sets at Slam Dunk and Reading Festival last summer, it is one we've been looking forward to hearing. From the pre-released singles, there is as much to be anticipated as Mike told us when we spoke to him last year about new music...
The record opens with fast-paced Everything is Ordinary, the first of the records' four singles. Drummer Jordan Pugh raises the tempo high to open the album with a swing and get the listener pumped, before moving into the more electric beats of the traditionally heavy 1’s & 0’s.
After comes single two, Plasticine Dreams, taking a shift from the heavy guitar riffs of the first two tracks into something more mellow and soulful. The track features sweeping tunes and catchy lyrics from vocalist Henry Cox, singing of “Plasticine Dreams, cigarettes and beauty queens”.
Taking a darker turn, the record transitions into Terrible Love & On a high ledge, two catchy but emotionally heavy tracks that are far from afraid to play with your heartstrings. The former sees Cox face to face with one of his greatest foes, himself, and the latter deals with the ever-prevalent issue of suicide amongst young men.
A surprise comes from by far the mellowest track on the record, Stuck in the Mud. Cox’ heartfelt lyrics accompanied with the stripped back piano make for a truly beautiful song. With lyrics such as "You saw me crying on the train today, you didn’t know what to do, you didn’t know what to say” you can’t help but feel the raw emotion and importance of this album to the Boston Manor frontman.
With addictive tunes such as Liquid and Ratking, Glue doesn't hold back any punches. The record does more than succeed in marrying harsh thumping tunes, with melodic emotionally charged lyrics. Every track is unique, both reminiscing of previous Boston Manor but also forging the band forward in a new direction. Glue will be released on Friday 1st May, and you'd be mad not to give it a shot.