AWmusic

First and foremost I should say I consider their debut self-titled a top 20 album in the last 5 years. It still get’s a high amount of play on my ipod, despite being two years old (I know, that’s not very old anyways). The main point I’m trying to get across is that it was a solid album, with a great deal of talent, not just potential. Love Drunk on the other hand, managed to improve upon a sound that already felt matured. I guess it’s true when they say you can always get better, which is exactly what BLG did.

Love Drunk features 11 tracks ranging from devilishly pop, to soulfully alternative and everything in between. Interestingly enough, the album begins with what I found to be one of the least likeable songs, Heart Heart Heartbreak. The intro is something different, and while I admire their boldness, it possesses some ill-informed American rock qualities very similar to Bon Jovi. The intro is however not the only glimpses of retro rock, tracks such as The Shot Heard ‘Round The World and Real Thing give off the very same vibe. While I found both the aforementioned tracks to be half way decent, they were not nearly as good as the rest of the album. These tracks had a heavy emphasis on the guitar work; groovy, grungy, and classically rock so to speak, not really my cup of tea. The odd thing about the situation is that all three tracks had very good chorus’ that fell back to their pop rock roots. Heart Heart Heartbreak for example has one of my favourite chorus’s in the entire album and, if not for the verse and guitar melody, it could have been a very good track.

But with the half-decent tracks spoken for, the album only skyrockets from here. Boys Like Girls vastly improved in their bubbly pop tracks, and it is the album’s bread and butter. From Love Drunk to Chemicals Collide, there are several exciting, well produced and catchy tunes. The first thing older fans might notice, is the change in vocals. Martin Johnson has always had a very talented voice in my mind, but it seemed his au natural sound did not fit into the scheme. Instead I noticed a little bit of production work on his voice, OR he simply mastered a higher pitch of vocals than I’m used to. Either way this is not a knock on his vocals, just something different that I noticed. You can really hear the difference in She’s Got a Boyfriend Now, which is one of the top tracks on this album. The melody is a lot more vibrant and exciting than the usual stuff, fitting perfectly into the pop scene. The guitar work is simple yet effective and little additions like the backup vocals keep things energetic and fun. This is really the core of many pop tracks; having so much on your plate to keep the pace fast and entertaining. The line and sinker however, definitely goes to the catchy chorus hooks that seem to be apparent in every track. Boys Like Girls did a great job with the lyrical content, because every chorus on this album is catchy and memorable. The most notable tracks besides She’s Got A Boyfriend Now also include the already mentioned Chemicals Collide and Contagious which are both infectiously catchy.

Finally, there is the very mellow and alternative side of Boys Like Girls, that many will probably remember from their first album. My favourite track from Love Drunk happens to be of this nature, and that happens to be Two Is Better Than One. Not only does this track have the emotional and passionate MJ vocals of old, but it also features Taylor Swift, adding to the solemn atmosphere. This track is perfect from the simple acoustic work, to the feint violin work in the background. In the foreground the focus is simply on the mending of two very opposite, but beautifully meshed voices. With sweet lyrics, a sweet sounding voice in Swift, and an overall pleasant but sad sound, it really hits home for me at least. Tracks similar in nature, that is to say they are mellow, alternative and emotional, include Someone Like You and Go, both of which are fantastic.

Boys Like Girls definitely stepped up with this album, and took some daring moves in order to get there. While it wasn’t all absolutely great, the majority of the album was nothing but fantastic, and that’s a feat for anyone. They really solidified themselves as a huge player in the powerpop scene, and I think success is really the only logical conclusion. Love Drunk is a must listen for fans of the genre.

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Boys Like Girls – Two Is Better Than One

Boys Like Girls – She’s Got A Boyfriend Now

Tags: album