ALBUM REVIEW: Glue – Boston Manor

Standing as one of the true success stories to come from the British pop punk underground – BOSTON MANOR find themselves in an enviable position in 2020. Now comfortably moved on from their charming, yet occasionally naive roots, the Blackpool five piece declared a statement of intent with sophomore record Welcome To The Neighbourhood. It became quickly apparent that the quintet were chasing a foundation of alternative rock – with a more deadpan attitude than they had ever revealed previously.

For the most part it worked too, and it was undeniably refreshing to see a band in their infancy have enough inner steel to flip their script two records in. It’s fair to say then, that as we reach stage three of the bands sonic journey – Glue has the responsibility of fusing the chapters together, maybe not completing the journey, but at least being a pivotal turning point.

Though it’s clear Glue was always supposed to be evolution as opposed to revolution, it’s a record that fails to land consistently. Admittedly fragments of the album work well in a vacuum, but as an entire piece of art: Glue is almost criminally hit and miss. Singles Everything Is Ordinary and Liquid have the kind of heart pumping backdrop that makes their eventual climax intoxicating, but this level of high octane, anthemic rock is rarely put on centre stage to the same effect throughout Glue.

Instead we’re left with an arena of dark rock which at best is filler, and at worst tedious. Terrible Love is fascinating in its murky nature but is held back by half-baked lyrics like “I want something that I can’t have, but if I take it then it’s mine”. Only1 and 1’s & 0’s suffer from differing ailments though, their low tuned, ROYAL BLOOD like rhythm patterns are undeniably brooding, but there’s a frustrating lack of urgency in the chorus sections here which is almost impossible to escape.

There are moments where BOSTON MANOR really get it right though. You, Me & The Class War and album closer Monolith are pissed off, fire breathing blasts of fuzz rock that hit with venom. Vocalist Henry Cox sounds at his best here too, still not setting the world alight lyrically – but that seems to matter a lot less when he’s dropped into this setting of climactic FOO FIGHTERS esque throes. If anything it’s these moments that accidentally highlight the missteps elsewhere in the record, Glue sounds at its best when it doesn’t try to be anything more than a high tempo rock album.

If Glue was a five track EP you’d be convinced that BOSTON MANOR might be about to uncover a goldmine. While a majority of what you’ll find here misses the mark, there are occasional flashes that highlight what the band are capable of in peak form. This isn’t the moment where BOSTON MANOR set themselves up to climb on to further heights, but there’s still enough here to keep momentum moving, instead of bringing it to a complete halt.

Rating: 6/10

Glue is set for release May 1st via Pure Noise Records. 

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