Living up to a great debut album can be a challenge, and many bands never quite reach the same level of notoriety with the records that follow. Boston Manor, however, are one of the few bands to easily surpass the quality of their debut with their sophomore release by taking everything that made them good in the first place, amping it up 10-fold, and throwing in some new tricks for good measure. To put it simply: ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’ is fucking genius.
This conclusion isn’t just drawn from the musical route the band has taken with this album, but also the concept behind it and the hard-hitting reality of the lyrics. As a band made up of members classed as ‘millennials’, they take this opportunity to not only express the hardships that millennials face, but also all the ways in which apathy and entitlement prevents them from making it better for themselves. It’s an outlook that many fail to grasp through their tunnel visioned perspective (as showcased in the aptly named track, ‘Tunnel Vision’, that beautifully highlights Henry Cox’s impressive vocal range) and it’s exactly what makes this album feel so full of integrity. Boston Manor demand to be taken seriously on each and every track.
Opening, and title track, ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’ is a prophetic introduction to their fabricated world, acting as a forewarning to an album filled with dismay and anger, particularly through the line, “If you could leave you would”. Its piano origin slowly builds up and leads into the rest of the album which is, sonically, heavily influenced by metal and contains rougher, angrier vocals.
Lead single ‘Halo’ follows, and Boston Manor couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate track to encompass the album and give fans an accurate idea of what’s left to come. It’s catchy enough to draw new people in but strong and complex enough to engage old fans for long enough to make it through to ‘England’s Dreaming’, a slow but powerful track that shows a softer side to the band. ‘Digital Ghost’ and ‘Bad Machine’ offer a similar vibe to one another, beginning softly before building up to their peak, a particularly effective device that proves the band’s versatility. These two tracks are sandwiched between the heavier and angrier ‘Funeral Party’ – a track focused on the apathy and laziness of our generation – and ‘If I Can’t Have It No One Can’, and while they still contain elements of this, they somehow act as a respite from the bitter frustration that plagues most of the album. ‘If I Can’t Have It No One Can’ stands out lyrically, a seemingly satirical attempt to see through the eyes of people who walk over those less privileged than them to get to where they want to be, sonically supported by a persistent metal-influenced riff that ties the track together.
‘Hate You’ fades effortlessly into ‘FY1’, a short one minute instrumental that makes use of synthetic sounds before launching into ‘Stick Up’, a track that exudes determination with the repetitive use of the line, “Just get out of my way” and effectively utilises layered vocals to create a frantic atmosphere. Each tracks incites different emotions of equal strength, showing that Boston Manor don’t need lyrics to make you feel something.
Closing track, ‘The Day That I Ruined Your Life’, is, musically, a stark departure from the rest of the album, starting acoustically and melancholic, rather than the anger that torments the rest of the record. The high notes are enough to stop you in your tracks, and despite the song not fitting with the rest of the album, it is still undeniably beautiful.
Cox’s vocals excel throughout. From soft to screaming, low to high, there isn’t a moment where his voice falters, perfectly matching the music and bringing the album together seamlessly. Thematically, while the band clearly put their own meaning behind the lyrics, it is ambiguous and vague enough that each track can be applied to the listener’s personal circumstances. Even if you don’t agree with the social and political stance that Boston Manor are presenting with this album, it won’t ostracise you, as you can easily make it your own. If there was any doubt left in our minds that British rock is making a comeback, Boston Manor have just absolutely crushed it.
YASMIN BROWN