Ok, so it won’t take a genius to work out how many studio albums The Boo Radleys have now recorded. But if that clue is in the title of the latest one, sharper minds have had to be employed in deciding which direction the now trio set off in for this and their post reformation seventh Keep On With Falling, both releases coming after a public hiatus of well over 20 years.
Times change after all though – and so does perspective. Even if some of the general public may forever associate them only with that song, on the strength of this last couple of years worth of material becoming your own tribute band was definitely not on the table. Eight feels and sounds more outward looking, even if tracks like Now That’s What I Call Obscene are still dealing with chewy subject matter such as religious intolerance.
The ying to that yang is in figuring out how to avoid being too disposably pop, but Sometimes I Sleep, A Shadow In Darker Times and Skeleton Woman are all polished, grown up articulations of their evident new sensibility. Eight’s best moment is however none of them: Swift’s Requiem edges instead towards low-key psychedelia, it’s orchestrated flourishes a potential jump off point which, come album nine if it ever arrives, could bury any unwanted parts of the band’s legacy once and for all.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 