HYPE CHECK (THE UK EDITION): What the Hell Just Happened? Boy Crisis, Apparently.

[Photos/Text by Andrew Parks]

The Artist and Their Current Single: Boy Crisis, “Dressed to Digress” 7-inch

What’s Been Said: “RIGHT from its title to its plippy ending, we just love everything about Boy Crisis. ‘Dressed To Digress’ (apart from being our new motto in life) is a fabulous electro ramble, a funky, pulsating, urgent slice of New York cool.” — City Life

“It has a definite G.A.Y. edge to it with its strong disco flavour, so much so it’s a bit like a camped up Kylie track, yes. Kylie camped up. The lyrics include ‘You can do me up like Woodrow Wilson’ and ‘You can do me like Bruce Springsteen’. Now I think he is talking to a woman, hence ‘I’m just a tiger and looking for a tigress’ but the sound of the track coupled with the look of the band makes you think otherwise and also I’m not totally hip with current terms on the gay scene, so it may actually be me who is confused and not Boy Crisis.” — Contactmusic.com

“Good fun, fizzing funk-ridden efforts like ‘1981,’ debut single ‘L’Homme’ and ‘Dressed To Digress’ make for killer listening, their juddering basslines, smart playful lyrics and falsetto combining beautifully with the fivesome’s charmingly geeky, jerky dance-offs—but it’s all tragically lost on tonight’s crowd. You’ve got to hand it to the boys, though: they soldier on admirably, laughing and joking between songs, grinning from ear to ear throughout and putting their all into a show that falls tragically flat reception-wise…These people are fools. Boy Crisis will be huge.” — The Fly

“Although drawn to the Brooklyn breeding ground for buzz bands, Boy Crisis actually hail from Wesleyan University—whose alumni include cosmic crusaders MGMT and Amazing Baby. However, this quintent have chosen the sleazy electro path, and worked out a way to make desperate future sex sounds danceable and enduring. They say: “a computer having sex with a beautiful bird or something”. We say: next year’s brightest hopes.” — NME

Our Take: British people—and their obsession with all things Brooklyn—are funny. So funny in fact that they’ve driven a major label to pour mounting piles of money into a band that’s figuring it all out as they go along.

The Verdict: We’re still not sure what we witnessed at Glasslands on Tuesday night, aside from backup dancers who don’t really dance and some seriously determined boys-just-want-to-have-fun behavior. One other observation: whoever’s steering the band’s wardrobe ought to be self-titled’s personal stylist. (Flower costumes and spandex pants? Why, yes!) Just saying.

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“L’homme”