First On: Bos Angeles (Feature for This Is Fake DIY)

Words originally for This Is Fake DIY and can be found online here.

It’s peculiar how a little bit of mystery can create so much interest in a band. Clearly the whole anonymity thing can be effective – just direct your heads towards Wu Lyf to find evidence for that – but the second a band seems to not necessarily want to be heard immediately is the very second when everybody wants to hear them. Intentional or not, much like Islet before them, Bos Angeles’ lack of shouting about themselves seems to be the very thing that makes other people want to shout on their behalf. One listen to 'Beach Slalom', though, and that urge becomes entirely understandable.

And for a long while 'Beach Slalom' was their only available song – so why would so many people be so excited about them already? Perhaps because it’s an excellent song – the kind that wriggles its way onto the tip of your tongue; the sort that is immediately catchy, exciting, vibrant, and refreshing; the type that demands to be re-listened to every time you remember its mere existence. It’s the perfect meeting place of noise pop and surf rock that lends itself to being well received in east London (although the song’s naming will have sealed that deal already), but it’s easily strong enough that it could attract the attention of the masses also. Twanging, reverberating guitar, rim-click drum patterns, prominent driving bass-lines and fairly hushed vocals are all pieced together wonderfully, effervescently, and seemingly effortlessly.

June on the other hand shows the south coast band’s softer side, swapping excited vibrancy for downbeat laziness. “Don’t wanna have a thing to do, just wanna fuck around with you,” they sing – as the guitar lethargically drags along – in true hipster excellence; whereas 'Days of Youth' sees the return to more familiar ground: upbeat, pacey and plenty of backing “ooh, ooh, oohs”.

They may not have had a fan-site made for them by two complete strangers who once happened to enjoy their live set (see: Islet), but then they’ve only ever played the one so far. A support slot in Bournemouth, the word on the grapevine is that it was quite simply excellent – and was apparently also attended by a good few of those ‘in the industry’, so although no releases are confirmed as of yet there’s every chance they aren’t too far in the future.

For hundreds of people to get excited about a band with only the one recorded song for so long may seem a little irrational and foolhardy, but when some of those people are the likes of Jon Hillcock (via his excellent New Noise podcast) and blogger Matthew Britton (The Pigeon Post), you can rest assured that there must be something at least a little bit special about them worth getting excited about. And now that they’ve proved that they’re no one ‘hit’ wonder… maybe I’ll set up that fan-site now.

Read more: http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/first-on/bos-angeles#ixzz1PBxgpf5U