Boys Like Girls – Crazy World Album Review

BoysLikeGirls2 Boys Like Girls are a Pop/Punk/Alternative/Rock band from the United States and have had two albums (Boys Like Girls & Love Drunk) released prior to this one on review today. Crazy World was released on the 11th December 2012 and sees the band take a slight detour away from their usual pop/punk routine. The album features definite country influences which I think enhance the album as a whole, and makes them stand out from the sea of American pop/rock bands. It also allows them to appeal to a large audience, which is always good. Boys Like Girls took a break from working together after their second album released in 2010 and parted ways with their bassist Bryan Donahue in 2011. They hired his replacement Morgan Dorr in 2012 and then proceeded to release the first single €˜Be Your Everything€™ on 14th August 2012. So, onto the tracks€ We begin with €˜The First Time€™ which provides a good start to the album. It provides familiarity with their older style of music for previous fans, and is good enough to draw you in if you haven€™t heard of them before. An excellent start it would seem. €˜Life Of The Party€™ is perhaps the catchiest song on the album. Easy to learn lyrics, a great beat and an upbeat happy vibe surround the second track. All round a fantastic track which is one of my favourites from this release. I particularly like one of the final phrases being, €œYou smell that? It smells like Boys Like Girls is back!€ I didn't know they had a particular scent€ Next up is the title track €˜Crazy World€™. So far this is the closest glimpse of the country/pop vibe seeping into their sound. I think it enhances it overall as it is a much gentler, more down to earth sound compared to their two previous albums. The lead single €˜Be Your Everything€™ is by and large a love song. It€™s poignant and feels like it has been written from the heart. Great lead single and should have achieved higher than 43 on the US Pop chart. €˜Stuck In The Middle€™ keeps the calm and peaceful mood for another heartfelt song. Slightly more up tempo than Be Your Everything, but is still a warming song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOD_HFqxmkM €˜Cheated€™ flips the mood away from the previous two tracks and raises the tempo once more. More pop/rock returning here but again the vocals keep a slight country twang compared to their previous pop/punk style. €˜Shoot€™ has the most relevance to a country audience as it seamlessly adds their own pop/rock twist to the genre. I like what they've done and the merging of pop and country works well. It€™s definitely more pop than country, but only just. €˜Leaving California€™ takes us back to the more relaxed slow songs of earlier. Not much else new to add as its tempo increases slightly towards the end but still keeps the sombre tone. €˜Take Me Home€™ brings back the pop for another rocky hit. A very marketable sound as it has a broad appeal to many ears. Good all round song, and another favourite of mine. €˜Red Cup Hands Up Long Brown Hair€™ brings back the party vibe heard earlier in the album for an upbeat ending to the release. Incredibly catchy chorus which will go down well live and I can see this becoming a fan favourite for the tour. It also reintroduces a country element along with a more rocky style. Finally we have €˜Hey You€™. This is, in my view, the best song on the album. Why, you may ask? It combines both downbeat and upbeat melodies perfectly and has relatable lyrics which will appeal to everyone. €˜Hey You€™ has a purely musical outro which provides an excellent crescendo to an all-round brilliant album. Overall this album shows great progression for the band and sounds well produced and well thought out. From me this album gets a well deserved 5/5. A definite must buy if you like the US pop/rock scene.
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