The Boyfriends (boobytrap records)
Personally invited by Morrissey to support him on his European tour earlier this year, it wasn’t long before this obscure London outfit were the toast of the music industry and the NME were all over them like a particularly unsightly rash. Knowing Mozzers obsession for like sounding acts, (something I’ve never really understood), I kind of had a fair idea of what to expect when this album arrived……

……I wasn’t wrong. Although they evoke the dulcet tones of Sack some of the time which I hadn’t expected, unfortunately the vocals seem to labor that Christmas karaoke Moz impression a little too strongly and this isn’t helped by a band that struggle to find that elusive pop classic needed to counteract this. It isn’t bad, just not particularly spectacular and really needs to be if you are gonna shadow your heroes as close as this.

The Boyfriends remind me of Gene on an off day and The Ordinary Boys pick n mix selection of post punk styles but there are evident signs that they could eventually become a band worth talking about. The brilliantly penned ‘Wonders Never Cease’ about spotting crazy Elizabeth Taylor look alikes on London buses is a cleverly observed and shows signs of melodic improvement. But then we are thrown straight into ‘No Tomorrow’, a shameless Joy Division rip off that would have Ian Curtis turning in his grave.

The Boyfriends debut is easy to target and despite their short comings I do have certain affection for them. If they work on their songs and become less conscious of their influences they could possibly have a future.

5/10

James Heward