The Friday Night Boys – Off The Deep End

9 June 2009, Joe @ 6:37 pm The Friday Night Boys Off The Deep End

Off The Deep End is the debut album for The Friday Night Boys and a great first effort. This previously unsigned band developed a large amount of buzz throughout 08 before eventually being signed by Fueled By Ramen in August. While I never looked into their EP or heard much of their original material, I did get a chance to listen to Off The Deep End in full. This four-piece from Fairfax, Virginia definitely delivered on all accounts with their fun style of play. I’ve always been a fan of Fueled By Ramen, and despite their cliché and stereotypical image, they have signed some of the best powerpop acts out there. Therefore the expectations for FNB were high, and I’m glad to say they easily made the grade.

The Friday Night Boys utilize a combo of keys, guitar and drums to merge both aspects of heavy and soft melodies to make great pop-rock music. Generally the melodies consist of a strong drum beat, aggressive guitars, catchy synths, and infectious vocals. The end result is tracks that are heavy enough to mask itself as rock, and pop enough to remain catchy and relatable. This fusion of pop-rock is appealing for both the teens that tend to eat this stuff up, and older crowds who like to get wisped away by nostalgia.

Part of Off The Deep End consists of highly addictive tracks that lean more towards the outrageous pop and vibrant rock side. Right off the bat, Permanent Heartbreak starts the album off with an insatiably catchy verse as brought to you by the wildly melodic vocals. The first verse is a simple nursery rhyme that quickly turns into a chorus of more epic proportions. The vocals are very gentle and warm even at the peak of their sound, and are a great compliment to the much heavier instrumentals. The keys used in this album are tastefully done, and never do I feel like they drown out the clean sound of the rest of the band, yet they still provide that little extra bit of artificial sound almost required of pop bands these days. Other tracks that are just as vibrant, fun, and have similar addictive choruses include Stupid Love Letter and How I Met Your Mother.

By no means is FNB a very upbeat and typical pop-rock band. While the aforementioned tracks do possess more of a vibrant approach, the general undertone seems to be mellow and serious. However Off The Deep End also consists of tracks that begin to explore this angle more, slowing the melodies down to match the more sensitive vocals, and leaving little doubt as to what they want to portray. Finding Me Out is the first track that unveils this style but is most definitely not the last. In Finding Me Out, the first thing to note is how tame the instruments are played. Unlike the first couple songs, the guitars never reach overdrive, and while they do progressively get stronger, they are played in more of an alternative manner. Furthermore, the vocals, while they have always had a cool demeanour shrouding them, actually manage to get even softer with the use of falsettos and allowing the sensitivity to really pour down. No longer are the keys meant solely for loading on a healthy dose of electrosynth, instead the piano is played au natural this go around. Other tracks like The First Time and Sorry I Stole Your Gurl continue to take things down a notch and are seemingly more elegant. While they begin to borrow aspects of alt rock, there is still heavy saturation of the original pop-rock goodness.

While I may not have bought into these guys in the past, I have given them the chance they deserve and I’m glad I did. For an album, Off The Deep End is good, but for a debut album, it’s amazing. Don’t expect the typical upbeat pop or any of the darker stuff, instead this album will provide a nice middle ground the whole way through, with honest wholesome lyrics. The album has a great blend of tracks, but never do they shy away from their original pop rock backbone. My prediction for Off The Deep End is another successful album by one of the hottest labels in the industry.

AWmusic