“City Boy” is the latest release by Boxing Club, an outstanding band straddling the Glasgow–London divide. It’s their second piece of work in 2025, arriving after “Barbra,” and an excellent debut standalone single released earlier this year that you should also check out as soon as possible. It’s one of those tracks that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus, grabs you by the collar, and throws you into a maelstrom built upon catchy, memorable, hypnotic, addictive vocal lines, guitar riffs, basslines, and beats. Their experience, knowledge, skills, talent, and creativity shine through every note delivered, and it’s one of the songs that immediately grabs your attention and refuses to let go long after it ends. “Barbra” established the Boxing Club as an exciting new band to watch, while “City Boy” pushes them deeper into the post-punk realm. Their knack for assembling memorable, dark, ethereal soundscapes vividly showcases their admiration for this music genre, as all those fundamental elements are dominant from start to finish, yet do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from garage, alternative, indie rock, and other similar styles. They use all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift their music on an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. These are the moments where the band demonstrates their songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing abilities, as the entire composition sounds so cleverly written, assembled, and performed. Therefore, these experimentations with various styles, approaches, and techniques resulted in an impressive, powerful, memorable post-punk track that will not only appeal to the fans of the mentioned genre but anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music.
From the onset, it becomes apparent that these folks are not joking around with their sound. “City Boy” arrives with a perfect structure, garnered with many profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and superb orchestrations. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place and purpose here, making “City Boy” one of the finest post-punk tracks you’ll hear this year. The vocal acts as a centerpiece of this sonic equation, elevating everything to new heights, commanding attention, and leading the listeners on an epic sonic journey. You’ll notice how soulful, passionate, confident, emotive, and powerful a performance seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything the band intended to achieve with this track. Besides decorating all those segments and orchestrations, these vocal harmonies also contribute more than necessary emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate song structure. The additional vocal layers and back vocals uplift particular sections and give a more anthemic vibe without spoiling the initial post-punk ambiance. In the meantime, the guitars roar with raw, abrasive, aggressive sound, shaping a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. You’ll hear all those tastefully assembled, catchy power chords and riffs lurking around and serving as a perfect counterbalance to the melodic vocals. Still, besides all the generous servings of distortion packed in the guitars, there’s still some melody lurking beneath. The way those power chords ring throughout the entire track or the way the palm-muted riffs pack more power, making this track worth repeating over and over again. Also, it’s nearly mindblowing how all the layers articulate together without overwhelming each other, proving that Boxing Club thought about even the tiniest details.
But not all the power comes from guitars. Quite the contrary, you’ll hear how the bass guitar shines in the limelight so many times throughout the entire composition. First, you’ll notice all those heavily distorted basslines rumbling during the overture, then the slightly warmer notes decorate hypnotic choruses. The bass plays a significant role here by contributing more depth, warmth, heaviness, and aggression while simultaneously acting as a binding element between guitars and drums. If guitars and bass are solely responsible for all the aggression, then we should thank to a skillful drummer for bringing all the groove and power to the mix with all those cleverly arranged, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. He also plays a significant role here, as his drumming maneuvers keep the remainder of the band in line while dictating the groove and tempo. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, and accentuation over the hi-hat and cymbals cuts through the ambiance and adds more complexity. “City Boy” is a modern post-punk masterpiece, crafted by four profoundly creative musicians. Songs as powerful, addictive, and hypnotic as this one are rarely heard or seen on a contemporary scene, and Boxing Club packed all the fundamental elements while simultaneously breaking all the rules and shapeshifting the boundaries of the genre. Their dedication to the craft is noticeable in each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver, as they deliver one of the finest post-punk tracks you’ll hear in recent years. You should immediately place this song on your music radar, as these creative musicans definitely demand your attention. Head to your favorite streaming platforms and listen to it loud.
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