Boyskout

Boyskout follow up their 2004 debut with the appropriately titled Another Life, which truly does seem to document this quartet’s move into a new phase. While 2004’s School of Etiquette treaded some darker territory, it had gleaming moments of pure pop brilliance. This time around the band take on a moodier blend of swirling guitars and pouting vocals, and as the first couple of tracks, "Spotlight” and "Suicide,” explode into waves of visceral, washy minor keys the Cure’s Disintegration becomes an easy comparison in style and aesthetic. Produced by David Schiffman (Nine Inch Nails, Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, the Mars Volta) and Donny Newenhouse, Another Life marks a change in maturity for Boyskout. Operating with minimalist landscapes then washing them away in fuzz and fury, this sophomore effort sees the band further developing a signature style that made them so distinctive the first time around.