Review – Boston Manor – Welcome To The Neighborhood

Artist: Boston Manor

Album: Welcome To The Neighborhood

Rating: 9/10

 
The first initial listen of Boston Manor’s , “Welcome To The Neighborhood” was pretty banging to my eardrums. The band has revamped its sound but retains a hint of their past sound. What you are left with is a surprisingly dark and angry execution of their new album. It’s clear they are pushing in a different direction but that’s a positive thing according to leadman Henry Cox:

“I think the time between the last record and this one, we kind of thought we knew who we were,” explains vocalist Henry Cox, “but we’ve realised that even now we’re still figuring that out. Before, we were scared to try stuff, whereas on this record there were no limits. We wanted to push ourselves, instead of being terrified to dip just one little toe in the wrong direction.”

The opening title track to the album, “Welcome To The Neighborhood” opens up with an easy haunting intro that clearly shows they’ve shed their pop-emo sound and have went for a more risky delivery in a more hazy and haunting execution. The guitar work reigns supreme in this track.

“Halo” was my initial track to hear by Boston Manor off this album. I have to say this track stuck with me and got me anxious for the rest of the album. It has not disappointed as you will see. “Halo” is a track that dives deep into some dark subject matter. The song is structurally sound in its delivery and melody, with a few build-ups throughout makes for a good single release.

A stand out a track is, “England Dreaming” is a really jamming song off the album. While extremely heavy on bass lines it adds something to the album as a whole being a sort of anthem to it. It has smooth vocals and like I mentioned before, some heavy bass lines. This could be in the future for a single release.

Boston Manor is taking their music in a clearly different direction, and the band couldn’t have made a better decision, adding some gnarly vocals and electrifying guitar work and some heavy crunch on delivering bass lines, it’s not a disappointing direction at all. The two tracks, “Digital Ghost” and “Funeral Party” are reminiscent of their past albums with an angsty new flair that will not leave you hanging nor disappointed.

Overall, Boston Manor has really amped up their sound with some grittier guitar work, some angsty vocals and stepped out of their comfort zone to bring the band into the new age. “Welcome To The Neighborhood” shows the band has evolved with the times past their ‘punk-pop’ era and it definitely delivered.

Check out, “Welcome To The Neighborhood” due out September 7th via Pure Noise Records. Pre-order the album now!

Official Video for, “Halo”

Pre Order, “Welcome To The Neighborhood”

Boston Manor on Social Media