The Boys of Summer
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The Boys of Summer

Detroit, Michigan, United States | SELF

Detroit, Michigan, United States | SELF
Band Alternative Rock

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"What It's All About Album Review"

'Things In Twos' is probably my favourite opening track of an album this year, it's really awesome and it sets the precedent for the rest of this album. The singing combo is great, it's so cheesy, made me want to dance. I could right the review on this song, I really enjoyed it.

Thus, 'This is it' showed a different side to the band, a bit slower, and a nice subject topic. A contrasting second track and one which I never really grow tired of. Track 3 followed the same idea, another pop-punk anthem which follows along the same lines as 'This is It'. Although, I wasn't to sure about the chorus, it didn't really move very much rendering it some what boring.

There is a huge pop influence throughout this album, helped along by consistent synth, keyboards and clapping noises instead of a snare. 'Is She Fiction' shows fully how this band does not rely on guitars and really on the bass line and synth creating that consistent poppy persistence. However, in saying that there is not one instrument that is wasted within this album all constantly contributing to the sound. I just really which that the guitar on 'Night Light' wasn't out of tune in the verses, cringe, thus resulting in a ruined song which was based around a successful song formula, it could have been really good.

'My Best Instrument' is a top song on the album. Letting the drummer show how damn good he is at drums, very talented and as he stated himself he was Jazz influenced. This song is early 2000's pop-rock shouting in your face. Yet it is followed by 'Map in Magnets', album filler guys? I really didn't like it, it really did not fit this album!

This album showed that this band is talented, good song writers, good musicians, especially the drummer. A good debut, but, production value is flawed which out of tune notes consistently popping out along with some of the vocals and the odd song I wish didn't exist. All in all this is a good release, a good album, 'Things In Twos' is a good listen along with others such as '85 significant heartbeats', definitely a summer album, a feel good album, a good start from the boys from Detroit. - Stereo Killer


"What It's All About Album Review"

The Boys of Summer are Kyle Mueller on drums, Mark Warren on bass, and Jon-Paul Bakaric and Scab on the guitar and vocals. The Detroit, Michigan, band are making a big splash today, releasing What's It All About today. They are billed as a pop/rock band, but it seems to me they have a healthy dose of punk in them, and at times remind me of Green Day without the existential angst. Sure, there is the energy and, at times, the anger I associate with the punk movement, more reminiscent of young UK punk bands like the Buzzcocks or The Jam, with themes more rooted in youthful issues rather than the rather than the doomed side of civilization.The album opens with Things in Twos, which reminds me of Jimmy Eat World with a harder edge. This is it really has the rhythms of some of that early punk/pop, like the Buzzcocks True Confessions. You can hear it here. Love Is Like An Arms Race moves away from the punk and drifts more to the rock, taking an stadium sound, continuing an ongoing discussion of love, both real and unrequited. Is She Fiction continues that trend, with a cool sound that is unlike any of the others so far. Night Light steps up next, with an interesting feel, as if Billie Joe Armstrong started singing some early U2 covers with the Edge in two. My Best Interest returns to the Punk/Pop sound, with bold drums and vocals, very earthy in the delivery. Map And Magnets opens with a 50s doo wop, but moves back to rock to discuss the relative merits of attraction. Soon they take A Long Road Home, sounding more like an American Big Country, with that layered and texture use of beats and movement. Gun Shy is not about gun control, and I Don't Belong keeps the rock=based theme of alienation going strong. The title song asks questions about life and love, and one of my favorites, 85 Insignificant Heartbeats ruminates on life, death and living in the moment.

Mueller's drumming is first rate, often driving the song to another plane. Warren backs up the rhythm with a deft hand, and Scab and Bakaric share the vocal and guitar duties with a sweet balance. You can buy What It's All About on iTunes for just $7.99, an introductory offer for a new artist. The 12-song offering is certainly worth it. Click here to check them out. - Soundtrack To My Day


"What It's All About Album Review"

The Boys of Summer are an enigma to me. The Michigan group’s debut album, What It’s All About is seemingly influenced by many of my least favorite musical trends of the last decade yet there is something likable about the group.
The press release for the group compares them to Jimmy Eat World, Angels & Airwaves, and Blink 182. That really pigeonholes their sound pretty well. The band is consistently frolicking somewhere between pop punk and emo. The Blink 182 comparison is the most obvious. The Boys of Summer have two vocalists, much like Blink; One of the group’s two vocalists sounds exactly like Tom DeLonge which just fuels the fire. The song’s lyrical content mostly seem to revolve around relationships. Songs like “Is She Fiction” is pretty self-explanatory and more interestingly titled songs like “Maps And Magnets” end up containing lyrical gems like “our lips connect like magnets/your’s positive, mine’s negative”.
Perhaps the most alarming song is “Love Like an Arms Race”. When making poppy emo, you want to stay away from anything that will get you compared to Fall Out Boy; yet the band seems to welcome with open arms the comparison by writing a song with “Arms Race” in the title. It’s not like writing songs about arms races is a common thing in music. The only song I could think of that has that phrase in the title is “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” and now The Boys of Summer’s track. Despite aping Fall Out Boys’ metaphor, the track’s piano-laden punk ballad feel works well. It reminds me of Something Corporate.
It seems like the odds are piled against any type of critical acclaim heading The Boys of Summer’s way yet there is a certain “je ne sais pas quoi” about their music. I think its a combination of things that gets the album a passing grade from me. The band’s name is the Boys of Summer and they are releasing their album at the beginning of the summer. The hot summer days and the album’s poppy attitude just perfectly mesh. If this album was released six months from now, I would probably give it something under a 5.0/10 but it just feels so right for right now. - Surviving The Golden Age


"What It's All About Album Review"

"You can play a song with the windows down driving around town with your friends, or when [you’re] having a bad day just sitting in your room.”

The Boys of Summer, a four-piece merry band of best friends from Detroit, make music that makes people feel good. That quote above, taken from the band’s MySpace bio, explains What It’s All About in one single sentence. Now you might be wondering, “If that quote describes the album, then why should I read this album review?” I’m going to expand on the flawed-but-still-great music that Scab (guitar/vocals), Jon-Paul Bakaric (guitar/vocals), Mark Warren (bass), and Kyle Mueller (drums) have created.
Overall, What It’s All About is an album with quality production and some seriously danceable tracks. If you liked Blink-182, Angels and Airwaves, or even Boy Hits Car, you’ll immediately recognize the Tom DeLonge-like vocals when you hit “Things In Twos.” Unfortunately that track, “This Is It” and “Night Light” really seemed like filler to me. “This Is It” feels more Cobra Starship than The Boys of Summer, and “Night Light” is a track that I would expect to see on an EP or Demo, not on a debut full-length. None of the three tracks really have much substance. I wouldn’t recommend them.
Enough of the negativity! “Love like an Arms Race” and “Is She Fiction” redeem the first half of this album. Both tracks feel like great summer music, or perfect music for a long drive. Some of the transient, points in “Is She Fiction” reminded me of Shiny Toy Guns. What It’s All About really picks up steam after “My Best Interest,” which is less effect dependent and more of a departure vocally than the previous tracks.
“Maps and Magnets” is the beginning of a string of great tracks that carry through to the album’s conclusion. It’s a little less dance and a little more pop, but still danceable. The differences in this track from any other on the album really make it stand out. “A Long Road Home” takes us back to the summer driving music that seems to be this band’s bread and butter. “Gun Shy,” “I Don’t Belong,” and the title track “What It’s All About” are really where the album peaks. “85 Insignificant Heartbreaks” takes the album out in style. At first listen, the track doesn’t seem like it quite fits. I kept listening, and I began to hear the Tom DeLonge-like vocals and Angels and Airwaves-like ending that will make fans of A&A, Blink-182, or even Jimmy Eat World fall all over this band.
The Boys of Summer might be the band that reminds you of other bands, but who ever said that was a bad thing? Okay, a lot of people have. I’m a firm believer that if you can do what you do and do it well, then you deserve credit for it. What It’s All About, while it does have its flaws, is a very well produced and well executed collection of music. It’s for that reason that I highly recommend this album to fans of, well, dancing. - The Sound Alarm


"What It's All About Album Review"

Around this time last year I wrote a review for a band called The Dangerous Summer. For whatever reason, be it my impending college graduation or fear of the unknown or indigestion, their record Reach for the Sun struck me in a completely memorable way. As I listen to The Boys of Summer’s debut What It’s All About, I can’t help but think of AJ Perdomo and company's lasting effect. Maybe it’s the vocals or maybe it’s the honesty or maybe it’s the fresh take on pop-punk redundancies. I honestly don’t understand what’s so enthralling about What It’s All About, and that’s usually the best praise a record I like can receive. Think about it this way: I have lots of friends, and I can remember when I met most of them: you know, the circumstances, the conversations, etc. But my very best friends, well, those relationships just happened. We clicked; I’m not sure when or over what. That’s the sort of ambiguous yet wholly personal feeling I get when spinning a song like opener “Things In Twos.” It matters to me more than I expected, but it also matters in a way I absolutely needed. Simply put (and laced with meteoric amounts of positive bias), The Boys of Summer are something spectacular.

If forced to guess, I’d say the dual vocals of Jon-Paul Bakaric and Scab combine to make this album unforgettable. The volley from scratchy to clean, from rock to radio-pop, elevates otherwise “normal” songs like “Is She Fiction” and “This Is It” to Best-Songs-of-2010 status. Having said that, I can’t discount the subtle electronics that nudge songs forward, or the energetic drumming (which is spotlighted throughout). And while What It’s All About’s front half makes the most permanent indention, the second half remains necessary due to its experimentation. When the vocal harmonies of “Maps and Magnets” begins, I can’t help but hear pop maestros House of Heroes. And the mix of electric and acoustic on the album’s title track finds The Boys emotional yet subdued. It’s just refreshing to hear a band get their point across without bashing us over the head.

But I think the strongest statement artists can make is this: People either hate or love what you do. As long as there is an emotional reaction, they've succeeded. When you hear the opening riff of “Night Light”, you’ll either be pissed about its similarity to The Dangerous Summer or absolutely thrilled about hearing a worthy sequel to “The Permanent Rain.” For a pop-punk band to instigate such emotion – there should be few people who “ride the fence” on this release – it must mean that The Boys of Summer have learned the intricacies of a fickle “scene” audience. And I guess that’s really my favorite thing about What It’s All About: intelligence. Usually, as a 23 year-old asshole, I listen to a pop-punk record and have to enter an adolescent mindset. I don’t feel like that’s necessary here. In fact, I think it’s disrespectful to this fine group of musicians. They’ve spent a majority of their lives figuring out what we, the Internet douchebags, want from a catchy, pop-oriented band. It elates me to say that The Boys of Summer have figured it out. Which isn’t to say that there’s a formula (although, there probably is), but regardless of what notes create a dopamine reaction in our brain, What It’s All About rules. And it will continue to rule for a very long time.


Recommended If You Like: The Dangerous Summer, All Time Low, House of Heroes, Steel Train
- Absolutepunk.net


Discography

The Boys of Summer - What It's All About (June 15th, 2010)

1. Things In Twos
2. This Is It
3. Love Like An Arms Race
4. Is She Fiction
5. Night Light
6. My Best Interest
7. Maps And Magnets
8. A Long Road Home
9. I Don't Belong
10. Gun Shy
11. What Its All About
12. 85' Insignificant Heartbeats

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Bio

For The Boys of Summer being musicians has never been an option. There has never been anything else. “We were born for this”, says bassist Mark Warren. Showcasing their talents to the world just less that a year ago, ‘The Boys of Summer’ have been on a mission of growing their band artistically, musically and growing their fan base in the most organic way possible. Having released their debut full length “What Its All About” June 15th, 2010 to critical acclaim, Absolutepunk.net said “If forced to guess, I’d say the dual vocals of Jon-Paul Bakaric and Scab combine to make this album unforgettable. The volley from scratchy to clean, from rock to radio-pop, elevates otherwise “normal” songs like “Is She Fiction” and “This Is It” to Best-Songs-of-2010 status.” recorded and produced by the bands very own “Jon-Paul Bakaric” at their own Night Light Studios in Rochester Hills, MI. The Boys of Summer aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. “We plan on releasing a few new songs in the fall and finishing up a new record by the end of the year” says Guitarist/Vocalist Jon-Paul Bakaric. “We have such a golden opportunity to keep writing new songs and release them the next day, we want to take advantage of that luxury while we can” says Guitarist/Vocalist Scab. Despite the plethora of bands out there, The Boys of Summer standout as a band with substance and artistic integrity. A band that is much more worried about making amazing music while keeping true to who they are. Be on the lookout for one of music’s best-kept secrets.

The Boys of Summer