When Blackpool’s Boston Manor said they were switching things up on their 2018 sophomore full-length, they clearly were not fucking around. A kingly example of a band taking a massive sophomore leap in terms of songwriting and stylistic maneuvering, Welcome To The Neighbourhood displayed their post-hardcore and alt-rock influences in a way that resonated with many new listeners. And Boston Manor pulled off the classic trick of not alienating their fanbase while doing it. After all, it’s not like the pop-punk influences that permeated the band’s previous material completely disappeared. If anything, the vocals of Henry Cox light up choruses on the Deftones-influenced “Digital Ghost”, while the relatable tale of addiction takes center stage on album centerpiece “Halo”. And lest you think Boston Manor took a complete Citizen-esque pivot on the record, there’s plenty of electronic flourishes on the album to convince you otherwise.
On the band’s earliest material, Boston Manor immediately proved themselves as a pop-punk act with more to offer than that genre descriptor often connotates. Seriously, have you heard “Laika” or “Lead Feet”? Those are just two of the tracks on their debut album that were harbingers of things to come. If anything, Boston Manor still bring those huge hooks to the table, but these are two songs that any modern pop-punk band would kill to write. Oh, the dichotomy.
No matter what stylistic changes Boston Manor bring to the table, though, their foundation is guitar-based music. On 2021 single “Desperate Pleasures”, the verses bounce while a confident, heavy guitar tone cuts through the electronic noise. It almost makes you wonder what a heavier alt-rock album from the band would sound like as a whole, but then again, that would throw away the band’s brilliant ability to write huge pop hooks that, let’s be real, are a core part of the band’s sound. they have more of them than that one episode of SpongeBob! And so too are the band’s influences, which range far and wide to be certain, but ’90s grunge and alt-rock vibes are HUGE on certain songs. 2020’s “Plasticine Dreams” could have been released in 1997, just as one example to behold. Nostalgia is awesome!
Two words best describe Boston Manor: swagger and versatility. Often, these two words coalesce together into their best songs. Last year’s single “Crocus” (off their EP Datura) is a great example. Hiding a darker message inside such a catchy song is a nice trick, to be sure.
Boston Manor are one of those bands that make you really, really excited for what they’re going to do next. More versatile than footballing legend James Milner, Boston Manor are the kind of band who can also play at almost anywhere on the (musical) pitch, excelling at just about everything they try, they’re the kind of band who should, in theory, excite any true music aficionado that enjoys musicians with major chameleonic tendencies.
