First
off, just to be clear, the name appears to be a statement affirming that boys
do like girls, rather than a reference to boys who are like girls. Tyson
experimented with different emphases and inflections a bit on stage.
Now,
this is where I have to confess a bit guiltily. I did not stay for their
performance. I was ready to. I had listened to some of their music in advance,
which I had not done with either Sunderland or Parachute because I had no idea
they would be there. However, I was there for the All American Rejects, and
despite my total enjoyment of the evening, and my confidence that I would enjoy
the rest of the show, I was so tired that having seen our band, we ditched.
I
am an old person, I hadn’t been to a concert in a long time, and I had been
standing and dancing for the whole show, because there is very limited seating
there, and in some ways that is cool, and makes the show more fun, but it also
wears you down faster and most of the audience was significantly younger.
This
feeling of guilt makes me want to give them a great review to make up for it,
and I am planning on reviewing some bands that I have not seen as well as the
ones that I have, and actually, the other band affiliated with that night is
also one I have not seen, so I guess it works. Guys, I’m sorry.
And
it is totally not a bad review, though it is somewhat mixed. I mentioned how
with Parachute there was an occasional country influence, that really came
through on one particular song. With Boys Like Girls, there are several songs
that feel country, and others that feel very much pop, perhaps dance club
style. Wikipedia calls them a rock band in the heading, then under genres in
the sidebar lists pop punk, alternative rock, and power pop. Spotify refers to
them as emo-pop, but “emo” gets thrown around rather indiscriminately, and I’m
not sure that works; it seems like there should be more self-flagellation for
that. In the expanded biography it expands to emo-pop turned country-tinged pop
outfit.
Actually,
that right there might be an excellent argument that genres are pointless, but
I’ll add my two cents, and say in some ways, it feels more to me like you have
two bands sharing space, and one is country and one is pop. (I don’t even know
how to differentiate between power pop and pop punk; is it the presence or lack
of power chords?)
Anyway,
some bands will create side projects to try different things, often separating
temporarily, or just taking on a different name, like Green Day and Foxboro Hot
Tubs. Also, you will often find bands that go through different phases,
sometimes as a natural progression. There are certainly musicians who have
moved to country after starting as something else (Nelson, Darius Rucker).
What’s
interesting with Boys Like Girls is they seem to move back and forth on the
same album. “Heels Over Head” may be their most pop song, and “Thunder” and
“Hero/Heroine” both feel much more country-tinged, but all three are on their
self-titled debut album from 2008. “Broken Man”, also there, may actually be
their most representative song, because I hear hints of rock, pop, and country.
Of course, it is on the second album, Love Drunk, where we get a title
track with a video featuring Ashley Tisdale, of High School Musical
fame, but that’s also where they’re working with Taylor Swift for a Hannah
Montana movie—talk about your country-tinged pop!
So,
it’s interesting to me, and this is where I feel that I really would have a
better grasp on them if I had seen them live. Bad concert-goer. Therefore, all
I can do is look at the songs, and feel like there is some lack of organization
and clarity, and like I don’t really have a grasp on the band.
I
will say there is some definite musical diversity. It’s not just that the song
styles seem to go back and forth, but they pull out some interesting things,
where on “Crazy World” it almost seems like a 70’s throwback, and while I do
not really like the term “butt rock”, there are some song intros where it seems
to apply.
My
favorite songs are the previously mentioned “Heels Over Head” and “Love Drunk”.
There’s an exuberance to them. You would think I would shy away from the
country-sounding ones, but “Thunder” is really beautiful. “Hero/Heroine”
doesn’t work for me. I think the words and tone of the song don’t form a
unified concept, and it bugs me. On the other hand, I am pretty sure that I am
missing something about “Red Cup Hands Up Long Brown Hair”, and I still love
it. “Be Your Everything” sounds to me like it should be a Trisha Yearwood song,
and there might be some positives for the band in that happening.
Sometimes
timing helps. I started listening to them around New Year’s, so finding “Five
Minutes to Midnight” fit just right, and I liked it, but maybe I liked it more
due to timing. Regardless, the song is still kind of a party. I also ended up
being really fond of “Up Against the Wall”.
Now,
I said I wasn’t sure if the “emo” label worked (honestly, I’m still wrapping my
head around how to use that properly), but there is definite sadness at times
in the music. There is a real poignance to “Great Escape”, despite it being an
upbeat song, and to “First Time” as well, though for different reasons. There
is the passage of time, and maturation.
I
do need to say that Crazy World definitely has the most mature and
diverse sound, which indicates growth as a band and I like to see that. It
looks like there were questions about whether the band would continue, and then
suddenly there is an album and tour dates in 2012, and a bit of a change in the
line-up, but it seems to give an extra resonance to the line on “Life of the
Party” (which has a really interesting intro and rhythms):
“Smells
like Boys Like Girls is back.”
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