Posted on: April 24, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

This is a six-song EP, and this is even a shorter album considering that The Boils never get above two and a half minutes on their tracks. “The Orange and the Black” is the first track on this EP, and it represents The Boils’ love for the Philadelphia Flyers. Did I say this is about hockey? Yeah. Even though hockey sucks, the music that is put out on this EP is solid enough to mcake a believer out of anyone that might be listening in. However, the one thing that individuals might notice is that even though the band sounds like a blend of the Dropkick Murphies and Flogging Molly, that the songs on this EP sound pretty similar. Like much of the music that Lookout Records released in the late nineties (any of the pop-punk bands like The Lillingtons, Darlington, and Mest), one song could easily be mistaken for another.

“The Orange and the Black” and “When The Boys Are Out Tonight” may have different words, but damned if I could pick out which song was which if I wasn’t paying attention or was drunk. “Bullies” sounds as if The Boils picked up their Ramones albums and listened to them before going into the studio; hints of Patroit and Prole present themselves as well during this seventy-two second track. This is one of the tracks on the disc that I feel had another minute or so in it; there was no reason for The Boils to cut this track off at the knees as quickly as they did here.

It really is the catchiest track on a disc of catchy tracks; “Warriors On The Ice” follows it up, and occupies the longest space on this EP. “Warrior On The Ice” tries to tell a story, and has The Boils adopt a more rock-heavy style. The track still has some catchiness to it (from the guitars instead of the vocals, which had been the trend on prior tracks), but the band does not have as strong of a position as they did after “Bullies”. “The Life For Me” is the penultimate track on “Hockey Anthems”, and it restarts the sound that individuals expect from The Boils. This is a solid EP, and while I don’t know how much of replay value this EP will ultimately have, it will provide listeners with 10 minutes of fun, bouncy punk rock. Give it a go.

Top Track: Bullies

Rating: 6.2/10

The Boils – Hockey Anthems / 2007 TKO / 6 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/theboils / http://www.tkorecords.com / Reviewed 31 April 2007

[JMcQ]

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