Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Boyracer's Victory Lap

If you've ever heard Sarah 076, "B Is For Boyracer," then you know this 7" was not the usual sound that made the label famous. Famous? Point is, Boyracer was anything but submissive, and the lads leaned a little more punk than pop. There were a couple of more Sarah singles and a wonderful full-length album on Slumberland during that era. I highly recommend the lot. Here's a little taste from 1993:



I kind of lost track of Boyracer around 1995. Shameful. There were lots of personnel changes, more labels and many many more songs, but the one constant throughout Boyracer's roughly 23 years was Stewart Anderson. During those years Anderson had a couple of labels of his own, and he's recently founded a new one with his wife, Jen Turrell. One of the latest releases on Emotional Response is being touted as Boyracer's swansong, but what a way to go out! Anderson is joined by the Mrs. and Sarah-era guitarist Matt Green (his first Boyracer appearance in two decades) for the four-song 7" "Pete Shelley" (six songs as a download). Yes, that Pete Shelley. How cool is that? Perhaps this should be an all A-side affair, because every song is a keeper. Sample "The Kind Of Man You Really Are" below, and stick around or you'll miss Terrell's organ-infused "Jump," and that would be your loss, believe me.

The "Pete Shelley" EP is exactly what I would have wanted Boyracer to sound like in 2014. Still raucous, a little more grown up, and with the kind of crisp production that wasn't even a thought when I was a fan during the Sarah and Slumberland years. It feels good to be back in the fold, even if I just barely made it in time.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a big fan of Boyracer - particularly the Sarah EPs and the fabulous 'boyfuckingracer' comp. - but I must admit I haven't kept up either. I thought they went a bit 'britpop' like Heavenly. Nobody combined indie with punk quite like they managed and it always surprised me they weren't better known - particularly with that whole K Records/Riot Grrrl bunch...

Cheers for the kind words about the Allo Darlin' thing - I might manage something (shorter) after I've seen Alvvays next month...

MisterPrime

Brian said...

Thank you, MisterPrime. Really enjoyed your words. Also enjoying the new Allo Darlin'. Been listening to it a lot this week, and it's a grower. I'm a little worried about Seabirds. Real Tears was one of my favorite singles, but it's been quiet for so long... I feel like they may have lost some of that well deserved momentum/chatter as a result from that fantastic 7". Looking forward to hearing from you again... just so long as it doesn't feel like work to you. Take care.