Boston Manor: Saudade

Artist: Boston Manor
Title: Saudade
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 20th November 2015
Reviewed By: Dan Stoten

I'm going to keep this nice and simple. Saudade is a bloody good record from a bloody good band.

It's been some year for Blackpool's Boston Manor: not only have they played a good number of well respected festivals, including 2000 Trees amongst others, but they're touring with Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! in December, and they've recently signed to Pure Noise Records. Saudade is the first release as part of the deal, and gives us four solid tracks of heavily emo-influenced second-wave pop-punk.

It's certainly a different sound to that of Neck Deep and Trash Boat: this is a much more mature, deeper and overall less pop-punk style. For me, it's all the stronger for that. Boston Manor have always stood slightly outside the masses (I've previously likened them to a new Me vs. Hero in that they've been hugely underrated and missed), and this has really helped them to shape and mould their sound, to the point that they now have stepped out of any shadow the aforementioned bands may have cast.

The EP has quite a desolate, mournful feel to it: the downbeat vocal tone has inflections of The Menzingers in its' style and delivery; while the melancholic feel fits well with the lyrics. All the track titles are depressive and negative; while 'saudade' itself refers to a feeling of "longing and melancholy".

Saudade opens with Gone, which is a good indicator for the rest of the EP. One negative thing I would say is that there's not a whole lot of variety here: the tracks sound broadly similar up to a point. That's not necessarily a bad thing when they're as strong as they are, and it's hard to showcase too much in a four-track window. Anyway, Gone gallops along with an explosive sort of pace, tempered by the aforementioned melancholic lyrics; the chorus is good and multi-layered, with a brilliant double-drum beat really adding to the inevitable head-nodding.

There's been a clear development in Henry's vocal since their last EP Driftwood, with added depth and gravel evident on a number of tracks here: reaching near-guttural levels in Gone and the following song Trapped Nerve. This is a far more brooding track, with a more choppy and broken-up style. There's different speeds and throaty vocal added to a catchy and smooth chorus.

Asleep At The Wheel comes next and has a much more upbeat and bright opening, fairly akin to self-titled era TSSF. In fact, you could almost mistake the first thirty or so seconds for a TSSF song, before the track drops into a frantic verse with Henry's distinctive vocal. There's another catchy chorus here, and you can tell that this one will be well received on the live circuit, with simple sing-along lyrics.

The EP ends with Shade: another brooding track with a much more menacing intro. It doesn't really get going as well as the other three songs on the record, losing its way ever so slightly. Not a bad song, just not the strongest.

Overall, though, this really is a very good taste of what's to come from Boston Manor. It's got the staying power and accessibility to attract many, and to be played over and over many times.