Fine Steps - Boy's Co. LP

Fine Steps - Boy's Co. LP.
Self-Released (SONG RECORDS)
10 Songs

Review:
“Boy’s Co., had it been released this year, would squat firmly in my top 10 records of 2011. While perfection is not something I nominally look for in music, the nine songs are a unified whole and the attention to the details – harmonies, bridges, choice of instruments, the mood of each piece, etc, etc – kinda staggers. Take the opener, “Dig Me In,” for example. A snippet of Julian la-la-ing the guitar hook for 10 seconds, then, you are suddenly thrust into sounds that could be anywhere from a ’60s Nuggets comp to today. Hard, chopped, down-stroked guitar, Brit-Invasion styled till it comes to the chorus when it transforms into a Chills song and then back again. Fan-flipping-tastic.
The influence of the Ganglian guys (Kyle Hoover and Alex Sowles) is apparent on Boy’s Co.’s with their “retro-is-now” sound a key part of why this record works so well – there is a familiarity (comfortable instead of nagging), more of an homage to an era than a blatant hipster rip. These guys know the history. Listen to “Lady Hume” and tell me it couldn’t have been the next Jesus & Mary Chain 45 after “Never Understand.” “Orestes” is what I picture if the Clientele ever covered the Feelies. “Pardon Me” sounds like if Pavement were Jonathan Richman’s backing band.”
By Dennis Yudt, February 2012