“Face For Radio” is the latest release by One Man Boycott, an outstanding English singer-songwriter based in Barnstaple. It’s his fifth full-length album, arriving after “Life Is A Movie,” “Self Help, Pt. 2,” “Nevergenetics,” “Empathy Is Overrated,” and “Optimist Prime,” five excellent singles that vividly showcase what you might expect from the remainder of this material. Compared to his previous full-length album, cover album, and unplugged live sessions, “Face For Radio” demonstrates a natural progression from an already incredible artist, featuring innovations in songwriting, composition, arrangement, and production. Lyrically, this material explores various themes, sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, so it’s a highly relatable full-length album that will immediately resonate with the broader audience. It’s an album where the artist channels mental health battles, relapse-and-recovery cycles, and stubborn optimism. Sonically, One Man Boycott combines various approaches, techniques, directions, and music genres to illustrate such lush sonic imagery. Perhaps pop-punk comes to mind first, as the fundamental elements of this style continuously lurk around in the mix, but you’ll also notice some of the finest properties borrowed from emo, skater rock, indie rock, alternative, and many others lurking around. He uses all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift this collection of songs to an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Perhaps his music shines with qualities that meet all the trends in contemporary music production, but you’ll also notice how he also implemented subtle touches of nostalgia, evoking an early 2000s emo/pop-punk music, an era when these music genres ruled the airwaves. Therefore, these experimentations with various approaches, techniques, directions, and styles resulted in a comprehensive collection of catchy, memorable, engaging, and meaningful songs that will not only appeal to pop-punk and emo fans but also anyone who appreciates cleverly written, tastefully composed, and flawlessly performed music.
This epic sonic journey commences with “Boycott Fans Saved My Life & Not For The First Time,” a calm, soothing, cinematic overture that gradually prepares the listener for what’s about to come up next. One Man Boycott kicks off this material with “Imposter Syndrome,” a powerful composition that vividly showcases all his songwriting and composing abilities. The song arrives with a perfect structure, adorned with many profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and superb musicianship. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place and purpose, making “Imposter Syndrome” one of the standout tracks off this material. The artist continues in the same style with “Confidence,” a catchy pop-punk track that carries many memorable guitar interplays, intricate basslines, and groovy drumming sequences. You’ll notice how all those cleverly assembled riffs resonate on one side while the other side shines with themes, melodies, and harmonies, constructing a lush ambiance that immediately grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go. One Man Boycott’s voice delivers sincere emotion with each line, making this track even more appealing to the ears. “Self Help, Pt. 2” continuously levitates between emo and pop punk sound, but the way this clever artist explores these music genres is what makes this song such a fascinating piece. He expertly incorporated both modern and retro moves for some extra punch, with each segment bringing tasteful arrangements, impressive musicianship, and anthemic vocal lines. “Nevergenetics” is another fine piece of sonic artistry that continuously levitates between emo, pop-punk, and skater rock. It carries heavy, colossal, powerful riffs, empowered by addictive themes, while an entire collection of impressive basslines brings more heaviness, clarity, and depth. In the meantime, the outstanding drumming, based upon flawlessly performed beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics, keeps up everything in line while dictating groove and pace. With “Life Is A Movie,” One Man Boycott successfully blends some of the finest properties borrowed from skate punk with modern pop-punk aesthetics. It’s one of those tracks where the artist packs a lot of power with sincere emotion, making it one of the standout tracks that will immediately resonate with the crowd. On the other hand, “The Alchemist” brings subtle electronics into the sonic equation. You’ll hear all those synth works beneath the lush guitar works, making this composition even more lush and complex. These orchestrations are mostly hearable during the verses, moments where One Man Boycott packs all the groove, dynamics, and aggression but still finds place for melody and harmony.
It’s also nearly mindblowing how this clever singer-songwriter brings back the sound of the early 2000s pop-punk music. “Empathy Is Overrated” exemplifies how this longstanding genre can still sound fresh, unique, innovative, and memorable, even when the song is fully stacked with some recognizable moves that made this style famous in the first place. One Man Boycott used all those elements and transformed them into his signature moves, which is quite impressive. He’s also known for his incredible voice, and he vividly showcases his vocal abilities at “Simulation Theory.” You’ll hear how his voice commands attention, elevates everything to new heights, and guides listeners on an epic journey through an expansive sonic universe. His impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything he intended to achieve with this material. Besides decorating all those segments and instrumentations, he also contributes more than necessary emotional depth and complexity to an already intricate structure. “Too Close To Comfort” also showcases how various vocal layers, while skillfully layered without overwhelming each other, can serve as an additional instrument or soundscape that uplifts the entire song on an entirely new level. These details are vividly hearable as the song progresses, while all the orchestrations act as a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. “I’m Broken, You’re Lonely” is a modern pop-punk anthem, decorated with more impressive guitar works. Those riffs pack some punch, and the dynamic drumming performance is such a great touch that once again brings the skate punk sound upfront. This epic sonic journey comes to an end with “Optimist Prime,” a calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal alternative rock that with subtle pop-punk touch to spice things up a little bit more. It’s a perfect closure of such an incredible full-length.
One Man Boycott has created a masterpiece, an album stacked with many pop-punk anthems that will immediately force you to spin this gem over and over again. His experience, knowledge, creativity, talent, ideas, and musicianship shine through each anthemic chorus, each melody, harmony, theme, and beat, and this album becomes even better with each new listen. One Man Boycott delivered a comprehensive collection of highly relatable, honest, meaningful songs that will immediately become a staple on your pop-punk playlist. “Face For Radio” is one of the finest records you’ll hear in a while. Head to your favorite streaming platform and listen to it loud!
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