It’s increasingly rare for a new artist to arrive sounding like a refined, seasoned outfit. Perhaps it’s a side effect of the DIY era, where the barriers to recording and releasing music have all but disappeared. A welcome shift which we have consistently championed here, though it has led to more than a few half-baked ideas reaching the public prematurely. This is not a problem faced by the Boxing Club. Following sold-out gigs at London venues The Grace and The Dublin Castle, and buoyed by a steady swell of local hype, the London-via-Glasgow post-punkers arrive with a debut EP that is impressive for both its raw energy and its striking cohesion.
In what is now a long and storied tradition amongst British and Irish bands, Boxing Club’s frontman performs almost exclusively in his own accent, singing and snarling his way through songs in his trademark Glaswegian cadence. It’s no surprise that the band cite their influences as “Fontaines D.C., IDLES, and The Fall”. But the Boxing Club possesses a theatrical flair that those bands largely lack, mixing aggression with bursts of cinematic drama. On the EP’s second track, ‘Father and State’, the band channels mid-2000s indie darlings Editors just as much as their more contemporary influences. From a murky opening, the track bursts into crisp clarity at the chorus: “You’re defined by everyone you meet.”
This excellent EP was preceded by the powerhouse singles ‘Barbra’ and ‘City Boy’, both accompanied by music videos that reinforce the band’s aesthetic of underdog swagger. Both tracks display the band’s impressive knack for storytelling, conjuring vivid scenes and images over propulsive music. What’s also clear from these tracks is the frontman’s ability to move effortlessly from Glasgow-sprechgesang to soaring melodic lines. I dare you to listen to ‘City Boy’ a few times without roaring along to the chorus: “The city booooyyyyyyyyy got lost!” It’s proof that Boxing Club has genuine hit potential which extends beyond the underground.
Boxing Club’s impressively refined sound owes much to their old-school approach, cutting their teeth on the underground live circuit and steadily building a loyal following that way. Fans at their sweaty shows in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow would have witnessed performances marked by a potent mix of boyish cheek and a relentless intensity. Local underground scenes are home to hundreds of young, exciting bands, and it’s not always easy to predict which ones will graduate from the undercard to the main event. But the Boxing Club has the right mix of a sound that’s in vogue, an underdog aesthetic that rings true, frantic, intense live shows, and a genuine knack for writing and performing a memorable chorus. I’d suggest you bang on this EP so that you can claim to all your friends that you were in on the ground floor.
Written by Matthew Wrafter
