Aug 03 2007
Ballboy
Ballboy are one of those bands that has existed for years yet only a few dedicated fans seem to know about them. Which is kind of a shame as once they finally come to their end of their road they will probably be seen as one of the great British indie bands of this decade. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The band are from Scotland and make songs that are sometimes upbeat and usually miserable. Thankfully, they don’t sound like Arab Strap, who seem to be the blueprint for all indie bands coming out of Scotland these days. Not that they don’t come close at times. I Hate Scotland is a spoken word diatribe against anything and everything the likes of which wouldn’t seem out of place on an album by that band. But the sound here is so varied that they are far harder to pigeonhole. I Lost You But I Found Country Music is a gentle, mournful song about exactly what it says while Avant Garde Music is the exact opposite gentle and just may be the most sardonic song I’ve ever heard.
Ballboy haven’t released anything since 2004 and their website seems pretty quiet on exactly what they are up to at the moment. They seem to still play the odd shows though, so there must be a little gas left in the tank at least.
MP3 Ballboy - I Hate Scotland (expired)
MP3 Ballboy - Avant Garde Music (expired)
MP3 Ballboy - Donald in the Bushes With a Bag of Glue (expired)
MP3 Ballboy - The Art of Kissing (expired)
MP3 Ballboy - I Lost You But I Found Country Music (expired)
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They played at this year’s Fence Collective Homegame and as far as I know Gordon is working on a couple of solo projects as well at the moment. So there’s sort of some things going on from the looks of it.
Money Can’t Buy Music is linked to from their myspace page and is a collaboration with an electronicky lady that looks sort of interesting. They have a single to buy too, which isn’t bad.
I Hate Scotland is a truly excellent song.
Big Ballboy fan. First heard them from a cover of “Born in the USA” but really fell in love with A Guide To The Daylight Hours. Really great stuff.