ALBUM REVIEW: THE BOXER REBELLION – UNION

ALBUM REVIEW: The Boxer Rebellion – Union

Words: Gareth O’Malley

Second time lucky? Very much so. This London four-piece were dropped from Alan McGee’s Poptones label in 2005 after their debut album, ‘Exits’, was released to critical acclaim, but little in the way of commercial success. This time round, they’ve stayed independent, in every sense of the word, and my word, has it paid off for them.

The Boxer Rebellion consists of Nathan Nicholson (Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Todd Howe (Lead Guitar), Adam Harrison (Bass) and Piers Hewitt (drums), and formed around 2001. The band played the Glastonbury New Bands Tent in 2003, and were soon signed to Poptones. Their first release was a self-titled EP, and three singles followed.

May 2nd, 2005 saw the release of ‘Exits’. There had been a lot of friction between Poptones and the band of the years, however, and two weeks later it was announced that they’d been dropped.

This would have killed any lesser band. The Boxer Rebellion, however, kept going, financing their own gigs and building a solid fanbase throughout Europe, as well as writing recording new material, most of which appeared on the band’s MySpace page over the next three-and-a-half years. Finally, on December 15th last, their second album was announced: ‘Union’ would be released through iTunes on January 11th.

So what of it, then? As you’ve probably heard by now, it was commercially successful, entering the top 5 in the UK iTunes charts (but was excluded from an actual chart position on the grounds that no physical copy had been released), and holding pole position in the US alternative charts for a few days, charting on the Billboard 200 at #82. An unprecedented achievement, one which has finally brought The Boxer Rebellion into the public eye. Oh yeah, and the album’s pretty good too…

‘Exits’ sounded quite like The Cooper Temple Clause. It was a claustrophobic-sounding record, consisting of intense songs built on walls of sound, and quieter ones, melancholic, beautiful, and streets ahead of most any other band ploughing a similar furrow at the time. From the opening tribal drum sounds of ‘Flashing Red Light Means Go’, it’s clear that The Boxer Rebellion have stepped things up a notch. Nicholson’s angelic vocals add so much to the song, and Howe’s tremolo guitar soars, but this song is clearly all about the drums. Five-and-a-half minutes long, it is a brilliant introduction to TBR Mark II.

‘Evacuate’, the album’s lead single, driven by guitars and supported by piano and otherwordly backing vocals, is probably the most immediate track on the record. That is, of course, with the exception of ‘Spitting Fire’, the band’s first outright pop song. Built on an Editors-esque bassline that is instantly memorable, it is a joyous and uplifting track.

From there, we move on to the album’s centrepiece. ‘Misplaced’ contrasts sharply with the immediacy of its predecessor. It builds, and builds, and continues to build before exploding into something truly stunning. “Slow right down!,” cries Nicholson, as his bandmates bring the track to a close. A breathtaking track, that recalls ‘Exits” ‘World Without End’. 

‘The Gospel Of Goro Adachi’ follows. While electronic drums drive the song, and it is a departure from The Boxer Rebellion’s other material, at times sounding like Radiohead circa’ Kid A’, it does not stick out like a sore thumb, instead benefitting from its place in the tracklisting. This is where ‘Union’’s real strength lies: its tracklisting flows marvellously. There is not one track that feels out of place – Bloc Party, take note.

There is only one song I have an issue with, and that is ‘These Walls Are Thin’. Not that it’s a bad song, not at all, it’s just that when you consider the other tracks that were in contention for the album, among them the astonishing ‘Broken Glass’, it doesn’t really stack up.

‘Silent Movie’ closes ‘Union’. It is a song that has much in common with ‘The Absentee’ off Exits, in that it does an excellent job of wrapping things up. “I just want some peace for us!” heralds the song’s climax, and as things draw to a close, the sound of static can be heard. A nice touch, as it gives the listener time to reflect on the impact of the album.

The Boxer Rebellion persevered in the face of overwhelming odds, and, in the four years between their albums, have managed to create something that is an altogether better and more assured effort than ‘Exits’.

‘Misplaced’’s chorus features the lyric “And then we’ll rise / With fire in our eyes / And take you by surprise”. There could not be a better summary of what this album is. It is a statement from a band that refused to lie down and call it quits. A more expansive and, dare I say it, accessible, album than the debut.

Any and all further success ‘Union’ has could not be any more deserved.

8.7

The Boxer Rebellion – Misplaced (zShare)

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