BOAT - Pretend To Be Brave LP - Red, Yellow & White Tri Color Vinyl, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.
Magic Marker (2013)
As soon as I had heard that BOAT was putting out a new record this year, I was counting down the days. The pre-order went up in the middle of the night, so I woke up at 4am just to make sure I could get my order in right away. While it probably was unnecessary to get up that early (as the most limited package was still available a few days later), there was no way I was going to miss out on this record.
BOAT plays 90's style indie rock better than anyone on the planet right now. Every note, every melody, every lyric phrase just takes me back to when I was in high school & college where there was great music hiding around every corner. Pretend to be Brave is yet another triumph from a band that I really fell in love with when they released their last album, Dress Like Your Idols.
Despite having a song with the lyrics "On the day that I turn 33/I'll be eating nachos but it won't be with my mom/It will be with you" I would say this album is quite a bit less wacky than BOAT's last. The vibe of Pretend To Be Brave is a bit more serious; maybe a bit more focused. The songwriting is sharper, though you could make an argument that the band doesn't sound like they're having quite as much fun as they did last time out. But really, that's not even a complaint or a criticism; it's just a difference between the 2 records. Pretend to Be Brave is outstanding and one of the very best albums to come out in 2013 so far.
Also, the first 100 copies bought direct from Magic Marker came with a cassette of other bands covering this entire album called Pretend to be BOAT. I just borrowed a working tape deck (mine broke about 8 months ago) so I could listen to the cassette. I'll post a separate review of it in the coming weeks.
Boat - Sharpshooters:
soundcloud.com/boat-3/sharpshooters
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