It’s truly a mystery what the Scandinavians have been up to for years. Whether it’s Iceland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, or Sweden. In recent years, so many great bands have emerged from Northern Europe that one might be tempted to think that people in the North do nothing but make music.
THE BOATSMEN from Sweden are just such an example. The guys release just a single, and hardly is it out when they follow up with their self-titled album. The four Northern men have captured twelve songs on the record, and they sound as if they want to rock the whole world.
A wild mix of '77 punk, hard rock, and craziness, that’s the four guys from THE BOATSMEN.
The songs sometimes remind one of The Shocks (R.I.P.), sometimes of The Hives, and sometimes of countless hard rock combos from the '80s.
The songs are short, so the album, with twelve songs, only clocks in at 28 minutes. While many bands artificially stretch their songs with solos or other gimmicks, THE BOATSMEN get straight to the point and wrap it up when everything has been said.
The 28 minutes of playtime pack a punch. As already described, the band’s style is infectious. The band’s humor is just as engaging. Songs like “I don’t know your name” (everyone knows that feeling when you wake up next to someone more or less attractive after a night of partying), “I got no time for you,” “Caught on the dance floor,” or the suggestive “I cum fast” (which amusingly comes before the song “Make it hard,” shouldn’t it be the other way around?). The earworms of the album are the songs for which the band has also released videos, such as “Saturday Night” (great chorus with:
“Every Night it’s Saturday Night, if you want to”) and “From Behind” (also here a fantastic chorus with “She looks so good, from behind”).
The band is a lot of fun to listen to. They will probably tear the club apart where they perform.
THE BOATSMEN are four crazy Swedes who are having fun and don’t hold back. That’s refreshing, enjoyable, and should provide a welcome change for fans of The Hives. Cool parties happen especially in the club, when sweat and beer drip from the ceiling and clothes cling to the body. I’m convinced that THE BOATSMEN will celebrate just like that. For that reason alone, I will catch the Swedes live. And on top of that, there’s top-notch music. What more could you want?
