Somehow this new Boyracer album slipped right past me. I'm catching up now, and happy to report that it's just as good as the last one. Assuaged, out now, might even be a bit punchier than the previous album. This one, on Emotional Response, is a smart delight.
"Digital Friends", a smart, wry take on our virtual relationships, is the clear highlight for me here, though the lyrical "Bulletproof" is a close second. These two, along with most cuts here, feature vocals from both Steward Anderson and Christina Riley. Riley's voice makes some of this feel similar to the final recordings from Heavenly, though the punch of Boyracer in 2021 is a bit harder. Opener "Stuck with You", for example, is pure power-pop, an heir to The Buzzcocks, while something like "Miserable Ways" made me think of bands who took inspiration from this one way back when, such as bis, perhaps. All told, everything here is full of the exact right kind of energy. Nothing's wasted, the lyrics are smart, and the emotions are rendered with a crisp exactness that makes the heart throb and the toe tap. This band proves on Assuaged that they remain an unparalleled force in indie.
Assuaged is out now via Emotional Response.
[Photo: Emotional Response]