May 19, 2006

Boy Kill Boy: Civilian

Get on your dancing shoes, you sexy little swines

6 / 10 Have you been wondering who’s next to join the MaxiKillEditor (that’s an amalgamation of bands not a subliminal message) elite? Were you too slow off the mark to witness the juggernaut of new music that is NME’s New Music Tour? Are you looking for your next indie fix? In that case let us introduce Boy Kill Boy, the immaculately coiffured and stylish band with the plan to get you on the dancefloor and nail your feet there. They’re not really going to nail your feet – that would prevent you dancing.

From recent floorfiller ‘Suzie’ to less recent floorfiller ‘Back Again’, ‘Civilian’ kicks off like it means to go on. And on. And on. And – ah, you see we have a problem here. While other bands go for the throw-enough-shit-at-the-wall-and-some-will-stick approach (see: Mystery Jets) BKB prefer throw-the-same-shit-relentlessly, and thus have an album here with a good tune, nine times (two ‘ballads’ providing the exception to the rule). An album destined to kick-start, ‘You’ve got it on repeat, you moron/No I haven’t’ arguments nationwide. That said, there are enough ideas in the likes of ‘Civil Sin’ and ‘Showdown’ to suggest the boys have more tricks up their sleeves. If only their selected shirt cuffs weren’t so damn tight.

Tim Chester

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