Almost a year ago to the date, Boston Manor released their previous EP, “Desperate Times Desperate Pleasures”. On October 14 2022 they deliver their new work, titled “Datura”, again through SharpTone Records.
It has come to my attention that I have been consistently reviewing Boston Manor’s material since their inception (thank you Unraveled.eu); and in my case the egg came after the chicken, meaning I always find myself previewing their singles (and loving them) before I get my hands on the full record for preview and review.
Enter Boston Manor’s latest offering, namely a seven-song album titled “Datura”, another shorter installation, like their 2021 EP “Desperate Times Desperate Pleasures”, compared to the pre-pandemic slew of releases of three full length records. For “Datura” I have already had the pleasure (sic) to heavily indulge into two singles for months now, songs 3 - “Foxglove” - and 4 - “Passenger”. The entire record feels like a continuation of their previous EP in sound and overall aesthetic, albeit a bit more atmospherical, mostly due to the beautifully ominous opening of the title track and the instrumental pre-closer "Shelter From the Rain". The now seminal five piece from Blackpool, UK seem to have perfected their sound of synth emo/punk tunes with heavier touches and every outing of theirs has the sentence “can do no wrong” written all over it. “Floodlights on the Square”, the album’s actual opener, fits right in with the band’s characteristic sound, as well as "Crocus" (even though this is my least favourite track on the record) and it actually does go without saying that the aforementioned singles released are the two best songs on the album (“Passenger” is my favourable song on “Datura”). “Inertia” closes the album off on a slighter note and with a drawn out sample of soundbites, a nice ending to another excellent body of work for Boston Manor.
If you’re already a fan, throw your hats in the air for another close to 30-minute array of songs that will keep you utterly enthused and, if you’re just signing in, you’ll find out it’s awesome to be a new member to the BM club.
With “Datura”, the band keeps conveying a prolonged post-pandemic message of struggle to fit back into a reality of personal and band-related normalcy. While I realize this is in no way an easy time for anyone, it feels like Boston Manor have perfected their current sound and song structure capability and may need to move forward, like they’ve done so effortlessly until the release of “GLUE” in 2020. If this is a peak of the mountain, as a fan, I’m more than happy to have made it up here and settle for the future. The question I keep coming back to after feverishly listening to “Datura” is, what if there’s more to discover?
8.5/10
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