ALBUM REVIEW: Boston Manor – Desperate times desperate pleasures

By Resonate | February 23, 2022

Words written by Dylan Shortridge

“Desperate times call for desperate pleasures,” whispers Boston Manor’s frontman Henry Cox to open their newest project. With all the chaos in the world, can this EP provide such aforementioned joy?

DESPERATE TIMES DESPERATE PLEASURES may have come as a surprise to fans of this band. Their previous album GLUE had only recently turned a year old when they released lead single, Carbon Mono. However, this isn’t just any lazy act; Boston Manor are a band that prioritise releasing music. What is even more impressive is the standard of work they manage to produce whilst still managing to push out a new release before you’ve caught your breath from the last.

The sound of the EP is more similar to GLUE than any previous release, and to an extent, it sounds like an extension of that album – but that’s not to say that it doesn’t have a unique sonic signature. On this record they continue down the path of more experimental alternative music rather than the straight-edged punk of their early career.

The track I Don’t Like People (& They Don’t Like Me) best displays this newer sound. The eerie opening guitar line and the fuzzy high pitched riffs are a long way from the band’s early work, but this is a progression I, for one, am here for.

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