Boylion

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start

BY Michael EdwardsPublished Mar 1, 2002

Right off the bat, Boylion must win some kind of prize for the most ridiculous album title of the year. Just in case you care, it comes from a cheat code that Konami used on most of their Nintendo games about a decade ago, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the music. Anyway, Illinois’ Boylion’s debut album is another to add to the ever-burdening list of emo albums that are being released in these post-punk days, but is also another one to add to the list of ordinary albums that are fun for a couple of listens then slip from your memory almost instantaneously. To be honest, I wish that there was some way to enter a cheat code and unlock the band’s full potential. Their sound can be compared to the usual suspects (Braid, the Get Up Kids and so on), but unfortunately it isn’t quite up to the standards of their peers. The best tracks are the upbeat ones, especially "What Matters Most‚” which sounds uncannily like Superchunk), because the long, quieter, more contemplative songs suffer from being the most unmemorable. When they don’t try too hard, and give in to their poppier sensibilities, it actually works rather well. While there might be a few decent tunes on here it is pretty much emo by numbers for Boylion, and whether you need this will end up depending on how bad your "soft, loud, melodic, punk” cravings are.
(MOC)

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