Boyskout

School of Etiquette (Alive/Bomp)
by Evan Solochek

This female quartet from San Francisco blends a fairly basic New Wave sound with an eerie darkness, which yields an album that is more Goth/synth than Joy Division could ever hope to produce. Boyskout‘s basic concept relies on keyboard riffs mixed with unapologetically feminine vocals and a peppering of punk – most likely the result of ex-Green Day and Offspring manager Jeff Saltzman, who mixed and recorded the album. School of Etiquette as a whole is infectiously playful, yet still undeniably gloomy. It’s a great juxtaposition that makes it a truly interesting and enthralling album.
(PO Box 7112 Burbank, CA 91510)