The Boxer Rebellion - Union [Album]

Self Released

July 31, 2009, 05:59 PM

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Over the last 4 or 5 years a particular derogatory phrase has sprung up amongst music journalists used to describe the bottom of the pile indie rock which seems to have been force fed to us over and over since The Strokes first broke ground on the new wave of indie rock 8 years ago. On the evidence of 'Union', The Boxer Rebellion's 2nd album, they are a strong enough band to avoid the landfill; these are well crafted and frequently beautiful songs but the problem is the band don't really choose to do anything even remotely exciting with them. For starters they choose to apply the "more is more" concept to reverb, especially on the guitars. Sometimes this can pay dividends but that's only when the guitar parts warrant the space and atmosphere that reverb grants. The guitar parts scattered throughout 'Union' frequently sound like they are completely lost and practically redundant. Of course this is a personal gripe, I don't mind reverb on guitars (in fact it can sound awe-inspiring) but like anything good, too much of it can be a tiresome prospect. Everything else here seems to fit the mould pretty much verbatim with a loose rhythm section and gymnastic vocals, but the cathedral guitars coupled with the interchangeable tempos, mean every song ends up sounding almost the same.

Things start well with opener 'Flashing Red Light Means Go' which manages to pair primal drums to a solid melody and an epic soaring sound which Sigur Ros would be proud of. The only problem is that they repeat this trick on nearly every other track on 'Union' and the effect gradually starts to wear off. Every song sticks rigidly to the same format, a solid beat backing up a tight 4/4 120 - 140bpm rhythm that starts things off real subtle before the 'choir of angels' guitars descend on the chorus. Fair enough this is a song structure which has served bands such as Coldplay and Snow Patrol very well in the past but The Boxer Rebellion seem to have grander ideas. They want to do what Hope Of The States were so good at, which is namely taking pop songs and stretching them out into widescreen. It's a good idea but the songs, and the band need to be solid enough to pull it off, and I'm not sure The Boxer Rebellion are quite there yet. The vocals of singer Nathan Nicholson are impressive (taking the grit of Hope Of The State's Sam Herlihy and paring it with the glacial falsetto of Sigur Ros's Jonsi Birgisson) and he certainly knows his way around a melody, however there are barely any hooks here, everything just seems to wash over the mix like a vague wall of sound without anything solid to grasp onto and connect with.

That's not to say the album is without decent songs though. The plodding by-numbers indie rock of 'Spitting Fire' and 'Evacuate' are off-set by the epic sadness of 'Misplaced' which is for my money the most interesting track on the record and the direction the band should be pushing in. The 6 minute duration really gives the sound room to breathe and build organically so when everything kicks in towards the end it actually feels earned rather than forced, and of course it helps that the melody is gorgeous. The guitars again are the weakest link here though, even Coldplay's earlier records had defined guitar parts, here it just sounds like a mess. There is a lovely little riff here actually but as soon as the chorus kicks in the guitars lose focus; the only instruments with any real clarity are the drums and vocals. It could be that this was the bands intention but it seems they are trying to have it both ways, be both credible and commercial. Closer 'Silent Movie' attempts a similar trick but it carries less weight as by this time we've heard it all before, the chorus is wonderful here (they CAN write a chorus) but the muddled instrumentation softens the blow significantly. It's after my first spin through the album, when 'Silent Movie' abruptly drew to a close that I realised every one of these songs actually has merit, it's just that when grouped together they blend into one dreary whole.

The second half of the album picks up the pace a little with the Radiohead like 'The Gospel Of Goro Adachi' working as an interesting parallel to 'Misplaced's' soaring grandeur. It's sparse electronic patterns and foreboding chords work against a barely audible beat and some heavily reverberated lead vocals. It's a lovely song but it's hardly ground breaking stuff and never really finds it's feet, it feels too tidy and considered. More interesting are 'These Walls Are Thin' and 'Forces', songs where the pace rises ever so slightly and the band attempt to paint with a broader palette. Both are still foiled by a dramatic lack of anything solid and memorable though, 'These Walls' contains a pretty chorus and a nifty guitar hook but it floats where it should soar. They are both songs that the superior Editors could have written but Editors know how to write a better chorus.

Overall The Boxer Rebellion's 'Union' is an album that will, I'm sure divide opinion. There will be those like myself who see through it's dark glamour and 'emotional' grit and into the solid, but unremarkable songs that lie beneath. Then there will be the ones who will tell me "I just don't get it". Well frankly I don't either but I can appreciate the band at least have the potential to create something worthwhile if they decide to broaden their horizons.

Tracklisting:-
1. Flashing Red Light Means Go
2. Move On
3. Evacuate
4. Soviets
5. Spitting Fire
6. Misplaced
7. The Gospel Of Goro Adachi
8. These Walls Are Thin
9. Forces
10. Semi-Automatic
11. Silent Movies

Recommended:-
Flashing Red Light Means Go, Misplaced, These Walls Are Thin

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