From out of the ashes of London C86 devotees Veronica Falls we’ve now been gifted two terrific offshoots – Ultimate Painting has seen frontman James Hoare turn to pastoral psych, while this year former drummer Patrick Doyle served up his Boys Forever solo project of bristling garage-pop. Recorded in LA, its sunny melodies evoked The Pastels and Bleeding Knees Club, but its turning-30 morbid lyrics dealing with drinking and depression would have made Morrissey proud. Boys Forever’s self-titled album is a tumultuous collection of splintering pop songs, underpinned by acid tongued lyrics and shivering vitriol, written and performed in its entirety by Doyle.
Having been a member of various bands for over a decade, Boys Forever is Doyle’s first solo project. Though born from disillusionment and despair and the insecurities of a brand new start, the resulting album is paradoxically sparky, gorgeous, swooning garage-pop, a perfect balance of bitter and sweet, happy and sad. Recorded by Andrew Schubert (together PANGEA, Wand, No Parents) at Golden Beat studios Los Angeles, the record captures the LA sun, while retaining the melancholic onslaught of the London winter in which it was written.
The Fat Angel Sings 