It seemed like only yesterday that we were heralding the return of The Boo Radleys. And while their first record back earned praise here, a reader might be forgiven for thinking that a lot of that good will was generated simply by the fact that Sice, drummer Rob Cieka, and bassist Rob Brown were here again to begin with. Now, with this new one, it's time to see if this trio can continue without founding guitarist Martin Carr?
This album is certainly broader in scope than the last one. 8 hops around styles enough to feel a tiny bit restless in spots. Still, there are some absolute gems here, with enough going for them to make them seem the equal of some of the old Boos stuff. Opener "Seeker" and "Hollow" feel like numbers from 1996's C'mon Kids, a release that itself was the sound of the band kicking against Britpop conventions as forcefully as Blur would do one year later on Blur. Still, Sice can't resist a good tune can he? "Now That's What I Call Obscene" skips in on one of the most obviously buoyant hooks this band has seen in a quarter-century. Sice sells this, and thank goodness he's here again. Criminally underappreciated in the Liam/Damon years, Sice still sings with the kind of warmth and empathy that made us love this band in the first place. "A Shadow Darker Than the Rest" and "Wash Away That Feeling" have some interesting ideas among them too, but even when they start to lose momentum, it's Sice's voice that pulls us back in.
Everything comes together on 8 on superb closer "How Was I To Know", a number that's got all the rush of "Towards the Light" from 1992's Everything's Alright Forever and the big hooks of any number of song on 1995's Wake Up!, the band's big breakthrough album. This cut, one of the tracks of the year as far as I'm concerned, is a delight in melodic terms, and a reminder of the enduring qualities of this group. Sure, one can miss Martin Carr's presence here, but this sounds like the Boos we loved. And it's enough of a great track on its own to earn back that love after their time away.
As always, the Boos were ones to take huge stylistic chances, even before the jumps around on 8. Back in the day, the Boo Radleys wisely kept leapfrogging from style to style rather than get themselves branded as a shoegaze band, or a Britpop one, and so on. I respected that risk-taking then, and still now. And while I don't love every selection on 8 as much as I love "How Was I To Know", I love this one so much that I can listen as the band explores other territory, knowing that the album itself ends on this big, glorious stomper. Welcome back (again), fellas!
You can order 8 via the official Boo Radleys website.
[Photo: Boo Radleys]