BOY
Nettwerk Records
The debut album Mutual Friends from European duo BOY is the musical equivalent of a chick flick. Not the obvious kind of tomfoolery like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but more like the lighthearted seriousness of The Notebook. OK, I know way too much about these movies.
You should probably also know that BOY is actually Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass—two girls. So that's where the insight comes from.
Originally released in Germany in 2011 but only dropping in the U.S. last week on Nettwerk Records, BOY's folk-pop album is fanciful and sincere. And even though March is Women's History Month and a good time to review this album—it's also just a super likable recording.
From the first track "This is the Beginning,"—yes a very obvious song to lead with—BOY enters the subject matter of relationships. They do so with the kind of soft mainstream voices you might hear on "American Idol," but with instrumentation more complex than typical pop music.
There is an orchestral quality that the duo pairs with hand-claps and synth, even oboe on the track "Skin." Occasionally the record breaks out into Florence and The Machine-like anthems—as with the song "Little Numbers." And BOY also tackles a bit of modern alt-rock vocals with the ninth track, "Oh Boy."
It's the perfect campy combination of sweet harmonies and jaded lyrics. The effect is quite touching.
