:: The Boat People - Dear Darkly

The Boat People

Brisbane’s The Boat People have been delivering their unique style of pop-rock (think The Shins) for almost a decade now and it may well me that their latest offering, their album ‘Dear Darkly’ just may well be their best to date. The first things that hit you about tracks such as ‘Under The Ocean’ and ‘Soporific’ are the fact that they are made up of a sweet melody, beautiful lyrics and are as catchy as hell. ‘Echo Stick Guitars’ takes a turn towards electronica – it consists of faster vocals and this style works exceptionally well for The Boat People… they can easily pull off this style without it sounding out of place on the album. The catchy melodies return on ‘Antidote’ while the band decides to go experimental on ‘Live In The Dark’ but it turns out to be one of the best tracks on the album. Electronica returns with ‘Too Much In My Mind’ which has beeps that are not too-dissimilar to a video game and then comes the faster-paced pop rock of ‘Damn Defensive’. ‘Hidden Busses’ is a slow acoustic number while ‘Dance To My Pain’ sees The Boat People once again turn to some faster paced electronica. ‘Cat’s Collar’ is yet another favorite of mine on the album – it is impossible not to like its great instrumental and quirky lyrics. The album then finishes with two very sweet pop music tracks – ‘Pornography’ and ‘You Are Adored’. The Boat People always deliver some of the sweetest pop music known to man and with their new album ‘Dear Darkly’ they have really outdone themselves. This is a great introduction to one of Australia’s hidden secrets.