Boyskout
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Boyskout

| INDIE

| INDIE
Band Alternative Punk

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"Be Prepared"

Put Boyskout's debut, "School of etiquette (Alive) into yor stereo, and the delicious mix of post-punk guitars, synthesizers and sexy, reckless vocals will have you thinking Chrissie Hynde, Sleater-Kinney or even Joy Division.
Put the same Cd in a computer and you'll see the ladies of Boyskout in their underwear, rolling around on a big bed, drinking wine from a bottle and making out. Suddenly it's hard to think of anything else. Yet the video for "Back to Bed" proves to be more problematic than prurient. As the film continues there are shots of the same women looking vacantly at the camera and fighting over the covers. The ogler is made to ogle too long as the band settles in for a nap, and soon it becomes clear that this quaryet isn't exploiting itself at all. Boyskout are just too smart for that.
Leslie Satterfield, who fronts the outfit and produced the video, avoids explaining herself or the clip, describing the content only as something the group wanted "to be a lot of fun," an attempt to "capture the spirit of the band." And, of course, she's right. Boyskout are experts at
navigating a tightrope of sexuality that can be playful and vague but also includes a serious search for identity and independence.
FULL ARTICLE in DIW July 2004
Issue - diw devil in the woods


"School of Etiquette"

If some CBGB's Frankenstein had managed, circa 1977, to transplant Patti Smith's sensibility into Blondie's garage-band pop, the result would have sounded something like BoySkout's "School of Etiquette." Outfitted in such New Wavey accessories as sneakers and skinny ties, this lesbian-rock quartet revives such Smithian motifs as drowning and the erotic appeal of outlaws, but with girl-group bounce. (...) "School of Etiquette" may not be genteel, but it is impeccably arranged. - Mark Jenkins - Washington Post


"Boyskout"

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to inspire young people to make ethical and moral choices (and, apparently, to discriminate against gay people). Ironically, the mission of Boyskout could be considered simular. Sounding like Corin Tucker singing over a mix of The Cure, the Go Go's and Blondie-inspired tones, Boyskout's views on sex, gender roles and politics are clever and more poignant than ever before. During out interview, singer-guitarist Leslie Satterfield stresses it's ok to be who you are on any level. School of Etiquette, the band's first full-length release, expounds on these themes and more. What's more, apparently, people even try to have sex on stage when they play. Eat your hearts out, Lord od Acid.
Dan Pastorius - Rock Pile


"Androgynous Band"

BoySkout is a fresh, androgynous band in both look and sound. This quartet, now made up of four not-too-girly girls, has that “too cool for school” new wave meets dark pop sound that seems to tie quite a few San Francisco art rock bands together these days. Their music blends a moody mystique with thumping rhythms, clean, quirky melodies, and coquettish vocals that consistently verge on a whisper with attitude. BoySkout’s songs range from catchy, Cure/Joy Division-inspired tunes like “Secrets” or “Eye Make Up” to more brazen tracks like “Girl on Girl Action”, which is full-on, danceable synth-driven punk-pop. Reading titles like these, you’re right to guess that many of the themes explored in BoySkout’s lyrics are laid out like a teenager’s best fantasy. In “Back to Bed”, singer Leslie Satterfield croons, “Baby come back to bed/you know you want to/baby come back to bed/I’ll make you feel so good.” The video for this one is also not to be missed! – Selina S. / The Sentimentalist Magazine

- The Sentimentalist Magazine


"Yes!"

This San Francisco quartet of tough-looking baby dykes has produced a terrific, fiercely addictive blend early punk and new wave on this, their first full-length album. Hints of virtually every major influence from the early eighties can be heard here; The Cure, Siouxie and the Banshees, Devo, Kim Gordon.you name it. Yet, even when they go so far as to shamelessly steal the keyboard line from Costello & The Attractions "Pump It Up" on the opening track, they never sound stale. Indeed, old music has never sounded newer. Much of this is due to the compelling vocal work of singer/guitarist Leslie Satterfield, and singer/keyboard player China Lajczok. One sings with a tortured but melodic voice that breaks in all the right places, the other with a deep, smoky register that draws you into its depths. Together, their delivery seethes with the kind of raw, snarling, muff-diving sexuality that no doubt haunts the nightmare of our asshole-President, and his horde of marriage-defending homophobes. As an ensemble, the band has effortlessly mastered the goth/punk/new wave genres that have inspired them, and transformed them into a gender-breaking assault on mainstream sexuality. This is precisely the lipstick-coated, fist-shaped enema that the country needs right now. Yes! - Andrew S. Taylor / Ghetto Blaster #12 - Ghetto Blaster


"Recommended"

Given the fact that the sounds of the late seventies are currently being filtered through the hands of The Strokes, Liars and The Rapture, it's something of a surprise that no-one has yet turned their attention to the catalogue of London's Stiff Records - the home of post-punk icons Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric and Lene Lovich. Actually, seeing as this is a US-led revival, the chances are that none of them have ever even heard of Stiff. Certainly, if you launched a Lene Lovich tribute act having never heard her, thereby being forced to work from the briefest of descriptions, Boyskout would be the result. Doomy, proto-goth rhythms that are half Cure and half Joy Division, set against swirling toybox synths and toytown guitars and a yelping frontwoman who probably meets the yapping dogs in her neighbourhood with a growl, that is Boyskout. If someone told you this was found behind the cupboard when Stiff closed down and somebody forgot to release it, you'd believe them. Stiff produced some of the best post-punk-pop ever, so you can consider this to be a recommendation. - Cliff Roberts - Logo UK (4 star rating) - Logo UK


"Boyskout Review"

The band foremost calls to mind Berlin and lesser-known trapped-in-the-'80s girl bands like Transvision Vamp and Missing Persons and '90s New Wave revivalists Elastica. Several songs on the record ("Jesse James," "Secrets," "Identity," "Eye Make Up") have a robotic quality, like one of those movies where all the people are consumed by computers. An aloof vocalist _ is she bored? depressed? seductive? just disinterested? _ drones over looping guitar and keyboard riffs. It could be a soundtrack for an '80s art film about androgynous lesbians who populate the hippest New York nightclub. There's a sense of tragedy that runs through the songs _ even the fun Molly Ringwald-kick dance romps like "Back to Bed" _ the sort that's associated with fear of technology and loss of innocence. It's all expertly, flawlessly executed. Not a single note rings false or strays from the world the album creates. The melodies are reach into your brain draw you deep into the melancholic time warp. If you aren't careful, you, too, could find yourself jonesing for a boy cut and sparkly legwarmers. - Lisa Hix / Performer Magazine

- Performer Magazine


"Boyskout Now!"

In 2002, Boyskout put out a self-released nine-song demo that signaled a promising future for these San Francisco up-and-comers. The songs were dark and dreamy--slightly goth anthems that consisted of Sapphic declarations of love and lust and recalled the moody musings of the Cure mixed with the daring originality of Sleater-Kinney. On their full-length debut, the all-girl outfit has upped the ante by adding better production (courtesy of Jeff Saltzman) and more songs to the mix, resulting in a richer, more vibrant, and well-rounded release. Lead singer Leslie Satterfield's vocals still remind me of the ironic, deadbeat delivery made famous by Robert Smith, but this time her voice is heightened by a fuller sound. The same goes for keyboardist-vocalist China Lajczack's sultry whispers when she takes over the mike. Songs culled from their demo also benefit from the band's signing to an indie label: "Secrets" (detailing Satterfield's crush on a girl she knows through a mutual acquaintance), "Vitamin C" (which calls for a cure for heartbreak), and the deliriously dark "Ecstasy" (on which Satterfield challenges a lover's shaky devotion) sound better than ever. Saltzman drenches the songs in a luxuriant production that can only be referred to as "dungeonesque," making sure to keep things as moody as possible, especially on the closing track, "Girl on Girl Action," on which words ooze out of Lajczack's mouth in a seemingly Quaalude-induced seduction of a potential lover. New songs like "Jesse James" and "New Black" prove that the band hasn't lost its touch for creating lush pop melodies, it doesn't get much better than the disc's first single, "Back to Bed," another demo track re-recorded for this release. On this gem Satterfield name-drops legendary love affairs throughout history in her effort to declare her love for another: "I am Napoleon and you are my Josephine," she croons. "I'll start a revolution for your love/Turn on the TV and turn up the radio/I think I'm in love with you." When she chants "Baby come back to bed" on the song's sultry chorus, no matter what your sexual orientation, you'll want to do just that. - Ken Knox / - Frontiers Magazine


"Lacerating Debut"

Boyskout, the latest all-girl post-punk band out of San Francisco, have a lacerating debut, School of Etiquette, just out on Alive that marries dark synth stabs to razor-wire guitars and a Bauhaus-ish gothic chill - it's part riot-grrrl vampire flick, part prison-gang jailbreak. - Boston Phoenix - Boston Phoenix


"Secret Weapon"

BoySkout has this secret weapon: this vocalist who sounds like Nina Hagen/Kate Bush, who adds an eerie, new-wavy feel to their guitar-based dark pop. - The Portland Mercury

- Portland Mercury


Discography

"Another Life" released 2006 on Three Ring Records
"School of Etiquitte" released 2004 on Alive Records & 2005 on Cargo Germany
"Secrets/Pictures for the Moon" 7' single released on Isota Records 2003
Girl Monster Chick On Speed Label September 2006
Various Compilations..

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

In 2003 the ladies of Boyskout met up with acclaimed Bay Area producer Jeff Salzman (Stephen Malkumus, Killers, Will Oldham) who recorded their debut album 'School of Etiquette', which came out in 2004 on Alive Records (Black Keys, Two Gallants). The album garnered critical praise, such as: "If some CBGB's Frankenstein had managed, circa 1977, to transplant Patti Smith's sensibility into Blondie's garage-band pop, the result would have sounded something like BoySkout's "School of Etiquette."- Mark Jenkins, Washington Post. After a successful Austin appearance at South By Southwest in 2006, the band turned there attention to recording a follow-up to 'School of Etiquette'. They enlisted the help of acclaimed Producers David Schiffman (Nine Inch Nails, Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, The Mars Volta, Jimmy Eat World) and Donny Newenhouse (Film School, The Coachwhips). The result far exceeds their previous work, prompting San Francisco Bay Guardian journalist Tomas Palermo to write: "The songs I've heard… are as refreshing as local underground music can get."