Unglued Reviews

Boys Night Out’s second album, Trainwreck, was a concept album following the story of a man’s descent into madness after he kills his wife in his sleep. This third full-length release from the Canadian group doesn’t have such an ambitious overarching approach, but its themes are equally grim: alcoholism, poisonous relationships, and public executions. Evoking bands like Bayside and Alkaline Trio, the quintet blend chirpy pop-punk riffs with desolate rock atmospherics and elements of post-hardcore.

The album fires on all cylinders from the beginning: Get Your Head Straight opens with a gripping chorus and proves to be one of the record’s best songs. The Push And The Pull is also a highlight – its title is reflective of the propulsive rhythm of the song.

Paean to alcoholism Let Me Be Your Swear Word’s chorus is almost offensively catchy given the tragic subject matter covered by lines like, “this bottle’s gonna take us both to an early grave”, and the crashing drums of The Heirs Of Error at first seem to be at odds with the other instruments until the song suddenly comes together, revelling in intensely energetic guitar work.

The understated Swift And Unforgiving and Hey, Thanks are less compelling, and the jury’s still out on Fall For The Drinker, which sounds kind of like Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees played by the Smoking Popes. After its deliberate pace, the upbeat Apartment 4 certainly gets the adrenaline pumping again.

Finally, the melancholy undercurrent that runs through the album comes out strongly on It Won’t Be Long, which begins as just piano and vocals before swelling into a massive singalong dirge that provides an epic conclusion to this imperfect but likeable album.

Owen Heitmann