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The Boy Least Likely To's debut album The Best Party Ever
is a collection of low-fi instrumentals glimmering with child-like
charm and gently soaked melodic grooves. The duo of Jof Owen
on vocals and Peter Hobb on guitars hail from Wendover, England
where they began composing songs spun from ornaments of pop, English
folk, country, and bobbins of bluegrass. They use the glittering notes
of recorders, the rolling chimes of glockenspiels, and the flushes
of banjo, fiddle, tambourine, and harmonica curls. The duo avow these
sonic ambers to rotors of guitar and drum dromes. Their music is ambient
with country films and pop sequins. The ditties are cheery with a
trampoline-induced ramble and youthful appeal. There is a Tele-Tubby
gleefulness in their arrangements and a glossy sophistication in the
melodies buildup and progressions.
The album commences with twinkling notes and carriages of twirling
forms and thickets of shuffling movements like in the numbers "Be
Gentle With Me" and "Fur Soft As Fur." The song "Monsters"
gleams with dark, overcastting tones and sealants of recorder and
banjo swags swabbed by jolly synth effects. The music is light, bubbly
and mild tempered, like in the pieces "Paper Cuts" and "Warm
Panda Cola."
The central tracks maintain the chipper pace with "I'm Glad
I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star" and "I See Spiders
When I Close My Eyes," which drips of gaity ambages of mirthful
sprints, and delicately pitched intonations. The harmonies in the
layers of instrument lines has a glossy finish and smooth glaze. The
dawdling tempos of "The Battle Of The Boy Least Likely To"
and "Sleeping With A Gun Under My Pillow" graft lap steel
patterns into the template.
"Hugging My Grudge" is a cheerful ditty spooled by hand
clap beats, swinging motions, and accessible vocal ranges. "My
Tiger, My Heart" is a quaint folk tune with a footing of vocal
and acoustic guitar currents. The album's epilogue "God Takes
Care Of The Little Things" is a short piece that rounds out
the series on a positive outlook.
The album overall is cheerful and sees life through the eyes of the
innocent. The synthesizer's curlicues and swizzles encircle the string
successions of the banjo, fiddle, and guitars, perched with dollops
of harmonica and recorder ornaments. The swinging motion of their
verses and the accessible range of the vocals make the songs universally
appealing. There is an effeminate flowering in the tracks. The music
is symbolic of indie pop/folk with stylings similar to Elf Power,
Belle And Sebastian, California Snow Story, and The
6ths. The Boy Least Likely To performed at 2006's SXSW music festival
and will be touring worldwide throughout the year.
-Susan Frances
Track listing:
1. Be Gentle With Me
2. Fur Soft As Fur
3. Monsters
4. Paper Cuts
5. Warm Panda Cola
6. I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes
7. I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star
8. The Battle Of The Boy Least Likely To
9. Sleeping With A Gun Under My Pillow
10. Hugging My Grudge
11. My Tiger, My Heart
12. God Takes Care Of The Little Things
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