(Rough Trade/Remote Control)

Boys just wanna have fun

In their short life, Austin’s The Strange Boys have stood up for their straightforward musical vision, bucking against the ‘what a young band with potential should do’ trends. Their 2009 debut album, The Strange Boys And Girls Club, was originally recorded by fellow Southerner and rising star Jay Reatard. Unhappy with the late Reatard’s production and the incompleteness of the songs at the time, bandleader brothers Ryan and Philip Sambol scrapped the tapes and rerecorded the songs with previous collaborator Orville Neley. Likewise, The Strange Boys have been smart enough to embrace – as opposed to denying, which always looks foolish when it’s so obvious – their influences (their debut EP, States Newest Noisemakers, was a cheeky nod to the primal rock and R&B fusion of The Rolling Stones). For their second album in as many years – a prolificacy in tune with the ‘churn them out’ nature of their ‘60s rock idols – the Sambol brothers have added some new faces and sounds, but at the core remains a union of garage soul and woozy alt-country that rarely disappoints. The strongest tracks bookend their sophomore release, with the bar band stomp of opener I See likened to the Dylan-aping of The Brian Jonestown Massacre (except, y’know, with someone that sings rather than sighs in syllables), while the closing acoustic guitars of You Can’t Only Love When You Want are as bittersweet as the song’s title. Ryan Sambol’s quivering vocals may leave you begging for a more muscular delivery along the way (unless you’re a giant fan of The Walkmen, in which case you’ll love it), but you can’t really fault a band with such sonic devotion and knowing enjoyment.

***½

MITCH ALEXANDER

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*