Boy Kill Boy review for Student Direct (University of Manchester student paper)

Boy Kill Boy: Stars And The Sea

Vertigo

http://www.boykillboy.com/

Simon Catling

Pick: Do I have to? Promises I guess.

Rating: 3/10

Seriously, who actually listens to Boy Kill Boy? The blurb accompanying this threatens that it’s a record that ‘fans will love, but also one that’s liable to earn them a whole raft of new supporters.’ Sadly upon listening to this it’s likely that the much anticipated raft will most likely be about turning and swimming upstream quicker than you can say “generic indie band”.

A very nagging problem with Boy Kill Boy is that from listening to Stars and the Sea, the signposts leading to their peers and influences are far too obvious; bands who struggle to cut the mustard themselves. The repetitive chorus’s of Kaiser Chiefs? Check; the limited but chart-friendly power chord domination of Maximo Park? In abundance. People began to realise that copycat bands like this were terrible a couple of years ago, thus the world was finally rid of the likes of Larrikin Love, Bromhead’s Jacket and The Others. Please, please let’s consign Boy Kill Boy to the same scrap heap.

Levellers single review in Student Direct

Well I entered Manchester University's student newspaper with a whimper rather than a bang this week. A MIGHTY 65 (count 'em) word review on lovable ageing hippies Levellers new double A-side. The word limits are ridiculously tight in the Music section but I guess this makes good practise trying to fit into a word limit because on the internet there are no restrictions and therefore the temptation to wonder off for hundreds and hundreds of words becomes very strong indeed.

In better news, I received an absolute plethora of promo CDs from God Is In The TV to review this week and most of them are damn excellent- very excited about Neon Neon and Youth Movies albums. It's going to make Wednesday's podcast an absolute treat (I must confess I was becoming a bit at loss as to what to play). Until next time!

Levellers- A Life Less Ordinary/Cholera Well

(On The Fiddle Recordings)

Simon Catling

5/10

Once upon a time the Levellers were big. No, seriously they were, Glastonbury ’94 anyone? No? Twenty years since their debut album Mark Chapman and co. rattle on with another pair of call-to-arms protest anthems. Whilst remaining excellent live, this, like all their recent releases, is Levellers by numbers and thus will no doubt be subjected to much scorn- which is a real shame.

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Levellers- A Life Less Ordinary"