On September 6th of 2024 Boston Manor released their 5th full studio album through Sharptone Records titled “SUNDIVER”.
I have been following and reviewing Boston Manor’s work for ten years now and I find it nearly insane that the band has truly never stopped releasing consistently good new material; five full albums and three EP’s in a timeframe like that is almost like releasing a record for every year of your existence as a band, which isn’t really possible. The band has never disappointed me and I have to admit that I considered 2020’s “GLUE” a masterpiece in the modern emo/synth punk sound. I remember later noting with 2022’s “DATURA” - the second EP of theirs in a row within less than a year apart - that “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?”
Apparently, the band initially planned to release a double LP after 2020, basically merging the two EP’s ("DesperateTimesDesperatePleasures" and "DATURA") with the “SUNDIVER” LP but the pandemic “laughed” at their ambitious project. That entire body of work was supposed to have a concept aesthetic of initially visiting darker places musically and lyrically followed by a juxtaposing approach of positive “light filled” maturation songs (the two EP’s were recorded in the dead of winter in a windowless studio complex that mostly just produced techno, the band would enter before the sun rose and leave long after it set, basically never seeing sunlight, while "SUNDIVER" was made over two summers, with daily barbecues and long walks to meadows and naps in the sunshine in between recordings).
I can understand how a project like that has a ton of potential. One release, even a double concept record, encapsulates vision, stands firmly in its own timeslot and can hold firm ground for listeners and fans. A band can basically focus all its energy in that type of record, cut down on songs that would otherwise extend different releases, pick their spots and then move on. BUT when you’re forced to tear that object into three releases over the course of three years, the result can become stale and monotonous in many aspects and this is my main objection with what is currently considered a culmination of work with 2024’s “SUNDIVER”. Boston Manor remain brilliant and of course it’s fairly evident with "Datura (Dawn)", "Container", "Horses in a Dream", "Why I Sleep" and "What is Taken, Can Never be Lost" and overall "SUNDIVER" is between good and great. I can feel like I’ve been listening to the same type of artistry and musicianship for three releases now, whereas a more carefully selected batch of songs would have brought me over the hill, once, which is enough. I hope that whatever comes next, I can label back to being “amazing”.
7.5/10
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