published: 6 /
10 /
2005
Label:
Too Young To Die
Format: CD
Offbeat twee pop from Buckinghamshire group The Boy Least Likely To, who use toy instruments to record much of their material
Review
The Boy Least Likely To are on record a two piece, consisting of Jof on vocals and Peter who plays all the instruments, but for gigs they stretch out to a seven piece.
Jof and Peter have been friends since their school days. They grew up together in Wendover in Buckinghamshire, a place which they describe as a combination between Trumpton and Buffy Summers' Sunnydale.
Their debut album, 'The Best Party Ever', opens up with 'Be Gentle With Me' which has an innocent air to it and is as sweet as summer sunshine and vanilla flavoured ice cream. It has a rough-edged vibe to it, and sounds like it is played on toy instruments, which, like a lot of this record, it in fact is. The band are big fans of these toys, and also of Dexy's Midnight Runners 7 inch singles and rare Lee Hazelwood vinyl LPs.
'Fur Soft as Fur' is mixture of Trumpton and the Beach Boys and is sweet as youth itself, when you liked girls but you wouldn't in a million years have kissed one. Yuck!!!
'Monsters', a song about Buffy style nightmares, is as wacky as Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd, but without, of course, the drugs. It does have an indie edge to it, but, due to the instrumentation involved, sounds a bit slack.
'Papercuts' has a weird keyboard sound to it and is as lovely as holding hands for the first time. 'Warm Panda Cola' has soft guitars, and, playful in tone, sounds like an early non-political Dylan.
'I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes' has a beat so gentle that it makes Belle and Sebastian seem like Black Sabbath, while 'I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon to Your Star' is more upbeat and has a sing-a-long chorus.
'The Battle of the Boy Least Likely To' is the tweeiest song of all time, Ah, it's so cute, but you can't help but admire this band for being so damned different.
'Sleeping with a Gun Under My Pillow' again recalls early Pink Floyd. It has country style guitars, real ones, and real drums too. It sounds something like the wacky Bonzo Dog Do Da Band before a mouth organ takes it in to Dylan country.
Recent single 'Hugging My Grudge' is beautifully played, and recalls 'Everybody's Talkin', Harry Nilsson's theme song for 'Midnight Cowboy.' 'My Tiger, My Heart' is a strummed number with a folk edge while the closer 'God Takes Care of the Little Things' is very short and sounds like a child's version of Blur,
A stunning album of pure and original ideas then which is also something of a shock...
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'm Glad 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