2016 has been a hell of a year for Blackpool’s Boston Manor, and tonight is the perfect celebration of all that they’ve achieved. Their vibrant and dynamic debut album ‘Be Nothing.’ was a huge hit, and they’ve taken bold step after bold step. Tours in both the UK and US have seen their popularity soar but it’s only right that they wrap up the year in London, exactly three years after they finished their first tour.
However, to start tonight’s party, New Jersey’s Can’t Swim dive right in with huge dollops of fast, gritty riffs that form the likes of ‘Come Home’ and ‘Right Choice’. With meticulous bass lines and Chris Loporto’s simply staggering vocals, they easily rile up the crowd for what’s to come next. ‘Stranger’ smacks with power, whilst ‘Death Deserves a Name’ pushes the walls of the venue to breaking point. They keep their set short, sweet and brief, but that’s fine as their outstanding music does all the talking for them.
Tonight’s heroes take to the stage and kick start their adrenaline-soaked set with ‘Burn You Up’. Limbs start flying, and people start crowd surfing and stage-diving right from the start and that’s how the floor of Boston Music Room looks for the next fifty minutes.
The crowd need no encouragement to get involved in singing back the choruses during anthems ‘Lead Feet’ and ‘Laika’, whilst Henry Cox’s sweeping vocals shake the walls through the duration of ‘Cu’. The atmosphere in the room is charged with electricity; ‘Stop Trying, Be Nothing’ goes down a treat, and punchy riffs and melodic hooks make ‘Fossa’ an absolute highlight of tonight’s antics.
There’s plenty of older material thrown in for the old-school fans too. The room loses its metaphorical shit when the opening strains of ‘Driftwood’ are heard, with closing track ‘Trapped Nerve’ inducing a seriously sweaty pit to end the night.
Boston Manor have really risen through the ranks; ‘Be Nothing.’ was merely a taste of what’s to come from this quintet. They’ve set off on an incredibly exciting journey so buckle up – it’s going to be one hell of a ride from here.
JESS TAGLIANI