It seems only fitting that Blackpool quintet Boston Manor title their brooding new album as Datura, given that datura flowers open their buds at dusk. Dusk, it seems, is a central theme of the bands’ most recent effort. Whilst previous Boston Manor albums have offered a scathing commentary of the miserable condition of British politics, such as their alt-rock breakthrough Welcome to the Neighbourhood, Datura begins to look inward and introspect. Thematically, Datura spans over the course of one night, as frontman Henry Cox took inspiration from his own personal struggles with alcoholism. The result? A moody EP that showcases the bands’ creative and sonic evolution.
Opening title track Datura marries both alt-rock and electronica in a slowly meandering track, with the synths drawing sonic comparisons to Nine Inch Nails. Immediately, we are immersed in an eerie and fresh Boston Manor sound, compared to their explosive pop-punk roots in their 2016 debut, Be Nothing. Beginning softly, with Cox’s softer, whispery vocals slowly creeping in, the tension generates and ends in a fortissimo, closing on the harrowing repeated lyrics of ‘we’re scared and we’re alone’. Although it does not strike as a standalone song that can be played outside of enjoying the album from start to end, it does act as a perfect introduction to the cinematic sound of the rest of the album.
Following the clean transition between the synth-y end of Datura into the next track, Floodlights on the square, Boston Manor’s expected heavy electric guitars make their awaited return. Cox’s vocals sound deliberately panicked, creating an overall sense of unease and foreboding. There is cohesion between the two tracks – clearly noticeably early – with plenty of dark sounds, synths, vocals and riffs.
Foxglove is a very typical Boston Manor offering, with swaggering guitars, powerful vocals and a chorus worthy of festival and stadium belt-alongs. The slightly more upbeat sound certainly does not come from the lyrics; in fact Foxglove possibly contains some of Boston Manor’s most hopeless lyrics, ‘no one’s invincible, I’m stuck in the middle’. Cox gives the furious lead single stings of regret, self-loathing and anger. No, it actually comes from the burst of tempo, in what has begun as a somewhat subdued project.
Said tempo is retained in Passenger, another typical Boston Manor ‘massive guitar, massive chorus’. The following track Crocus is the next sonic phase of Datura, maintaining a catchy beat, with electronic sounds that encapsulate the cyberpunk, post-noir soundscape. Shelter from the rain is certainly a unique choice from Boston Manor, as it acts purely as an instrumental interlude with no lyrics. It offers a rare moment of peace in this macabre EP, with some rainfall sounds punctuated with occasional electric guitar.
Instrumental tracks tend to serve a purpose of bridging sonic gaps within records, or simply to further immerse the listener into the microcosm created by the artist. Shelter from the rain increases the cinematography and claustrophobic atmosphere of Datura, and leads nicely into closing track Inertia. Inertia acts as an alt-rock ballad, with emotional lyrics that close the record on a more hopeful note than what it started on. More noticeable than the contrasting lyrics ‘it’s a new world outside, let the big wide world in, inertia, you are still my home’ is the return of long instrumentals, with the electric guitar gradually fading into the sound of distant sirens, ending on an industrial glare.
To close the record in such a way entices the listener to want more. For those who enjoyed Datura, on a positive note, the album is intended to be part of a two-part series. However, such a short EP (just shy of half an hour) could either be determined as feeling unfinished, or the perfect tease for what is next to come from the band. For Boston Manor, their experimentalism has paid off: an exciting new sound from one of the most proficient alt-rock outfits in the UK currently. Datura has impressively honed an atmosphere that draws us back in for another taste of its murky depths, posing many questions about the direction that the constantly evolving Boston Manor will take their listeners next. Dawn, perhaps?
Jodie Averis
Edited by: Ewan Samms
In article photos courtesy of Boston Manor via Instagram
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