Another Life is the second album by San Francisco pop-rock darlings, who have been hovering at the doorstep of national recognition since their critically acclaimed debut, School of Etiquette. After an unsuccessful relocation to New York City and many line-up changes, BoySkout has landed one of the best pop-rock albums of 2006. Replete with their signature retro-sounding garage rock percussion, piercing guitar leads, lusciously seductive vocals and dark bass lines, BoySkout returns with twelve songs that represent a departure from the 1980s goth undercurrents of School of Etiquette, their "CBGB's Frankeistein" as Mark Jenkins cleverly dubbed them in his 2004 Washington Post review. Under the influence of new bassist Piper Lewine and recently departed guitarist Jen Chochinov (Shove, Schande), BoySkout's Another Life errs more on the side of ‘90s girl-powered rock circa Throwing Muses and the Breeders. Significantly more focused and mature than School of Etiquette, Another Life’s emphasis is on heavy guitar grooves and multi-vocal textures. Jangly guitars dance for domination altercating sharp riffs and power chords while Leslie Satterfields’ beguiling vocals continue to deliver sexually-charged lyrics and the keyboards role play from the emoting sentimentalism of Blind Eye and the propelling melodies of Kraftwerk’s classic The Model to the 1960s swinging feel of Happy Yet?. The violin completes Another Life’s instrumentation lurking dramatically in Apt 2A and in the astonishing re-make of Beatles’ Drive My Car (renamed as Track 12), a song that takes Nick Cave-like proportions in the cinematic imagery that evokes as if it were the soundtrack to Wim Wenders’ and Bernardo Bertolucci’s latest films. Unlike many other pop bands of our time, BoySkout maintains the distinct ability to combine the approachable with the daring under a rejuvenating retro sound that serves delicious pop-rock for the intelligent masses. Undoubtedly, Leslie, Piper, Christina and the rest of the skout gang are paving the way to the real deal. Welcome to Pop Rock 101.
Play 12, 7, 3, 1, 10, 4, 5, 6
1. Heavy bass sound. Goth-y , dance-y.
2. Dark, sparse, sardonic.
3. Heavy guitar grooves. Jangly and psychedelic. Great feedback distortion in the end.
4. Sugary, popy. Think Aislers Set.
5. Throwing Muses-like grooves with Cure-sque pop-vocal chorus.
6. Staggering composition. Hypnotic. Amazing Violin work.
7. Sweet and sentimental melodies break into heavy guit grooves. Rocking lead guit riff.
8. Power-pop rock with delicious backing vox. 9. Cover of Kraftwerk’s classic
10. Noisy and rocking! Garagy.
11. Dark, morose, and border-line alterna-sounding.
12. Slow, atmospheric, theatrical. Absolutely brilliant re-make of Beatles’ classic. Think Nick Cave.