Boy Kill Boy

NME described Boy Kill Boy as like “The Smiths splitting half a disco biscuit with Hard-Fi in the Hacienda gents” Sure proof that the NME have no idea what they’re talking about, but any sentence with biscuits and toilets in it must be appropriate whether they’re talking about the next best rock band or the primary solution to global warming.

Sadly Boy Kill Boy won’t be solving global warming just yet, no matter how many biscuits you want to throw at them. But they will put on an outstanding live performance, which some might say is far more important anyway.

Looking worryingly like a cross between Rhys Ifans and Jack the Ripper lead singer Chris Peck surveys the crowd with a frighteningly psychotic stare. There’s an evil glint in his eyes that conveys a sense of Shakespearian melodrama in his character. There’s a bit of sharp contrast between the bands tidy suits and their less than well groomed haircuts; typical indie boys then.

‘Back Again’ is one of the most ardent singles to be released this year, fraught with a fervent passion that drives the song forwards like a left wing hippy driving a freight train towards a tied to the tracks George W. Bush. On record the song couldn’t sound any more like We Are Scientists if it had intensely studied each riff from ‘With love and squalor’ and then tried unashamedly to regurgitate the whole ethos of that album into one song. In fact the first time I heard ‘Back Again’ on the radio I couldn’t quite understand why We Are Scientists were releasing two singles at the same time. On stage it doesn’t look or sound anything like the nerdy American rockers, it’s far far heavier.



The band often sound a lot like Maximo Park, but that comparison is lost on stage where distorted guitars replace the clean and over produced sound that Boy Kill Boy seem to have achieved on record. There are definite similarities to the style of music Placebo have been creating recently and I’d also throw in The Bravery as a possible influence on the bands music. Boy Kill Boy are definitely a live band, there is no doubt about that. ‘Suzie’ sounds brilliant live and was a definite crowd favourite but it doesn’t have any of the strength or personality in the single version. If anything they come across as slightly nauseating. It shouldn’t detract from the live experience they create though, which is by all accounts fantastic.

Boy Kill Boy happily announce that today their new single reached number 26 in the UK charts, and then precede to perform the b-side ‘Cheaper’. The set lost a bit of steam mid way through and would have had more strength had it been turned around. This wasn’t too detrimental to the overall feel of their performance but a climatic finish would have certainly left the audience itching for more rather than the impression that the best material was used up in the first half of the set.

‘6 Minutes’ sounds more like The Bravery than any of their other songs and is about as chirpy and happy as Boy Kill Boy get. Surprisingly enough it doesn’t actually last 6 minutes, more like 3 and a half minutes. Most of Boy Kill Boy’s music is based around fairly simplistic chord progressions but its something that tonight’s support act Stop Starts severely lacked, a problem I felt could have easily have been rectified with the addition of another guitarist.

Boy Kill Boy perform their other single ‘Civil Sin’ to a sell out King Tut’s, quite a feat for a band who are still three months away from releasing their debut album (due May 22nd). The album is hotly anticipated, boasting production from John Cornfield, who has worked with Muse, Razorlight and Supergrass in the past.

I recommend catching Boy Kill Boy on one of their current UK tour dates as they could be selling out much larger venues as soon as their album hits the shelves.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.