We’ve entered the age of the sequel. While movie fans bemoan the lack of originality in yet another Marvel instalment, there’s a lot to be said for a two parter; an opportunity to finish a story left on a cliffhanger. That’s exactly what Blackpool natives Boston Manor hope to do on ‘Sundiver’. This album is the rays of sunlight that peek through the clouds after the storm that was 2022’s ‘Datura’, a record that dealt the post-pandemic bleakness of addiction and struggle. In the here and now, Boston Manor are in a far better place both emotionally and musically, explicitly aiming to herald positivity, hope and rebirth with this album.
This shouldn’t really be a surprise, considering their three advance singles radiate optimism in a grainy, Smashing Pumpkins way. ‘Sliding Doors’ wanders dreamlike between waves of nineties alt and hardcore licks like leaves in the wind. The bleaker ‘HEAT ME UP’, once it moves past the echoing Nirvana-styled opener, has “crown pleaser” written all over it, with a wailing chorus designed to be screamed back to them at immense volume, and then we’ve got the borderline post-punk ‘Horses In A Dream’. There’s an intelligent, echoing relish in every line that evokes Frank Carter at his slinkiest, and a open vibrancy to the shredded silk of the guitar. There’s a lot to love about the reinvented Boston Manor direction that’s bound to push the right buttons for a lot of people.
It’s not all happiness on ‘Sundiver’, and ‘What is Taken, Will Never Be Lost’ stands out from the rest of the album for it’s sheer emptiness. Written in the aftermath of frontman Henry Cox’s bereavement, it’s a disconcerting song, out of joint and stripped back to the bone, beautifully full of empty space and nothingness. But then ‘DC Mini’ takes us by the hand to lead us out of the darkness and back towards a night sky of burning stars and otherworldly backing vocals. Pain is always acknowledged, hiding behind each chord, but never allowed to rule this album; Boston Manor make it clear that they are in control of their emotions, making a definitive statement about who they are and where they want to be. If you’re in the middle of a transitionary period in your life, searching for a solution to an existential puzzle, this will be the album that sets you on the right path.
Yet the prevailing tone throughout the record is one of resolution and determination. Boston Manor want to be better, and they want you to be better too. “I believe that everyone is able to love,” cries Cox on ‘Fornix’, and we believe every tortured, determined syllable screamed over the twists of the guitar. He pledges a desire to change on ‘Dissolve’, but on his own terms, a shake-up of the ‘I’ll be whatever you want’ trope in love songs, the chords uplifting and the melody thundering before a spooky piano outro.
‘Sundiver’ is an intelligent album, the product of time taken to consider the absolutely best way of saying what needs to be said. At turns passionate and reflective, lonely and communal, it’s an album that grows more complex rather than graspable with each listen. With an appeal that stretches beyond the expected standard, this record is going to play very well on Boston Manor’s upcoming tour, and there’s more than enough hints dropped that the band are headed in a new trajectory, much like the breadcrumbs dropped a certain aforementioned ginger Rattlesnake when he was finding his feet. We can only expect more interesting, resolved rock to present itself when the time is right.
KATE ALLVEY