Boy Set Sail

We're Almost There

Written by: TL on 01/03/2012 22:13:45

If you're a follower of the pop-punk scene, you'll know that it is a genre the modernity of which was pretty much monopolised by American bands until the emergence of You Me At Six back in 2008. Since then, all manners of small British bands have popped up in the wake of YMAS's success, and while South Wales quartet Boy Set Sail are among the latest, I have a feeling they won't be the last. On their EP "We're Almost There", they offer a rather familiar, youthful serving of tracks that on one hand sounds a lot like every other band that ever grew off the New Found Glory-inspiration-branch, and on the other has enough British tint to them to also merit actual comparison to You Me At Six.

So what you get are five songs of bright, summery pop-punk, and to the lads' credit, they've performed decently in the one category that is paramount above all others in this genre, namely hooks, having equipped each of the songs on "We're Almost Here" with at least one recognisable, singalongable moment which will quickly start to welcome back repeat listeners. The impression of quality is fairly consistent, so picking highlights seems a bit more arbitrary than usual, but if pressed I'd say that "Believe" and "All These Things" have slightly stronger moments to boast of than the surrounding tracks.

The production job on the EP isn't exactly basement quality, but it clearly isn't a big-budget record either, rather it sounds like a band making the best of limited means, and while it does not go a long way to helping the band sound very unique, the slightly low-key approach lends the sound the kind of authenticity that many pop-punk purists seem to value these days - Which inevitably make me muse about whether the band might gain a core of fans on their early releases, who will then turn on them the moment they get a break and get some real money to play around with.

Regardless of such considerations, the essential quality of this particular EP is that it presents Boy Set Sail as a band that isn't much worse, nor much better, than a lot of similar bands trying to break the mold as Britain's newest pop-punk sensation. If you've enjoyed some of these underdogs, like The City Calls or Not Advised for instance, then Boy Set Sail are almost certainly a fit for you also. It's clear though, that when measured against some of the more established releases we inspect on this site, "We're Almost There" still shows that there's certainly some room for improvement before Boy Set Sail are actually there.

Download: Believe, All These Things, You Are
For The Fans Of: The City Calls, You Me At Six, Not Advised, Kid Down, Cartel
Listen: facebook.com/boysetsail

Release Date 21.09.2011
I Am Mighty Records


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