01 June 2015

BOYS LIFE Boys Life 1995


by request


Artist Biography by

Boys Life were a Kansas City, Mo., band with an intensely energetic, but dissonant sound that sprung out of the post-hardcore scene in 1993. The band began releasing material on split 7" records with other local outfits Secular Theme and Giants Chair. Relying on a stripped-down sound punctuated by out-of-tune, noisy guitars and a ‘quiet' then ‘loud' alternation, the foursome then put out two full-length albums, Boys Life in 1995 and the out-of-print classic Departures and Landfalls in 1996.
Tagged emo-core by critics and kids alike, the band, composed of Brandon Butler (vocals/guitar), John Anderson (drums), John Rejba (bass) and Joe Winkle (guitar), often began their songs with a simple bass line and then turned up the nobs and ditched the drum brushes, building up to epic crescendos with screaming, distortion and energy -- all in a very controlled manner. Adding samples of crickets chirping, radio static and the far-off wail of train whistles gave the band a decidedly Midwestern/Americana feel without ever coming off as folk or country.
Boys Life called it quits sometime in 1997, but members went on to form the short-lived Farewell Bend, Lullaby for the Working Class and other projects. Winkle and Butler now do time in the Lo-Fi outfit Canyon.

Tracklist

1 Golf Hill Drive 2:30
2 Tucked In 2:28
3 A Quarters Worth 5:15
4 Without Doubt 2:59
5 Lister 3:40
6 Breaker Breaker 4:08
7 Cloudy And 47 5:33
8 Temporary 2:28
9 Clay Hill 5:01

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