by request
Artist Biography
by Brendan Dabkowski
Boys Life were a Kansas City, Mo., band with an
intensely energetic, but dissonant sound that sprung out of the
post-hardcore scene in 1993. The band began releasing material on split
7" records with other local outfits Secular Theme and Giants Chair.
Relying on a stripped-down sound punctuated by out-of-tune, noisy
guitars and a ‘quiet' then ‘loud' alternation, the foursome then put out
two full-length albums, Boys Life in 1995 and the out-of-print classic
Departures and Landfalls in 1996.
Tagged emo-core by critics and kids alike, the band,
composed of Brandon Butler (vocals/guitar), John Anderson (drums), John
Rejba (bass) and Joe Winkle (guitar), often began their songs with a
simple bass line and then turned up the nobs and ditched the drum
brushes, building up to epic crescendos with screaming, distortion and
energy -- all in a very controlled manner. Adding samples of crickets
chirping, radio static and the far-off wail of train whistles gave the
band a decidedly Midwestern/Americana feel without ever coming off as
folk or country.
Boys Life called it quits sometime in 1997, but
members went on to form the short-lived Farewell Bend, Lullaby for the
Working Class and other projects. Winkle and Butler now do time in the
Lo-Fi outfit Canyon.
Tracklist
| 1 |
Golf Hill Drive |
2:30
|
| 2 |
Tucked In |
2:28
|
| 3 |
A Quarters Worth |
5:15
|
| 4 |
Without Doubt |
2:59
|
| 5 |
Lister |
3:40
|
| 6 |
Breaker Breaker |
4:08
|
| 7 |
Cloudy And 47 |
5:33
|
| 8 |
Temporary |
2:28
|
| 9 |
Clay Hill |
5:01 |