The new self-titled Johnny Boy album came in the mail
all the way from Sweden.
First the bad news: nothing on the album is remotely close to the heights of You Are the Generation… or Johnny Boy Theme. I pretty much expected this, but it’s still a little disappointing.
That said, the other eight songs make for a decent album, if not a great one. One highlight is “Fifteen Minutes,” which is reminiscent of the better moments in many ways, and suffers only from a lack of variation. The same basic riffs runs through the whole song and the mini-wall of sound background stays more or less constant. Part of what makes the bombardment tactic of production work is the contrasts between loud and quiet, fast and slow.
Other tracks suffer from excessive tinkering and production. “Bonnie Parker’s 115th Dream,” for example, has some nice elements but is so drenched in overdub, sound effects, and meanderings that end up going nowhere that it ends up feeling bloated and overdone. I could also do without the pseudo-rapping.
The two main missteps reside in the middle of the album: “War on Want” and “Springer.” The former reveals just how limited Lolly’s vocal range really is, with her virtually monotone declarations that she “don’t wanna new kitchen, honey / don’t wanna buy now, pay September.” As I’ve said before, Johnny Boy is a great punk band, but that’s because of their subtlety, drawing punk elements out of disparate areas. This song beats you over the head with virtually no nuance. “Springer” is not much better. Her voice here, once again, suffers quite a bit. And the tune is almost nonexistent. Other than a brief chorus, it’s little more than sound effects and whispered atonal singing.
Fortunately, things pick up again for the last few tracks. “College” is a light, bouncy track with maybe just a little too much production, but it holds off in some of the right places making for a pleasant little song. “Formalderhyde” is definitely the best of their attempts to capture the typical punk sound. Sneering vocals from Davo, with a nice backing by Lolly, driving drums and limited production make for a decent song.
Clearly, Johnny Boy wants to be more than a boy-girl band reviving the best of 60s-era pop. This involves missteps into other genres they clearly have yet to master, and it means they go a little over the top trying to add as many effects as possible in every conceivable place. The best moments are those where the tune is allowed to shine through, and the production supports, rather than overwhelms.
All in all, absent the first and last tracks, which stand head-and-shoulders above the rest, this wouldn’t be an album worth noticing. It has some nice songs but nothing that jumps out and says “pay attention to this band.” However, the glory of “You Are the Generation…” and “Johnny Boy Theme” bookending the album show that this band clearly has the potential to produce show-stoppers. Here’s hoping that they can produce more gems like these for the next album.