#albumoftheday / REVIEW: BOSCO: BOY

Bosco hails from Atlanta and was discovered by A-Trak. This EP, BOY, was just released on June 2nd. And, boy, it’s quite intoxicating. Listening to its opening track, “Gold Ghost,” I truly feel like I’m high on something. It worms its way into your brain and stimulates it in just the right way to make you feel light-headed and euphoric. Imagine if Aaliyah was alive today and made a trip-hop album; that’s basically what this EP sounds like. It’s perfectly smooth, retro R&B with modern electronic influences. “Feels like I’m all used up.now / drunk / playing games I could never win / save our sin,” she sings, sounding like she’s having an out of body experience while on X, watching herself, making observations. (I’ve just typed it the way it sounds to me.)

Listening to the interlude “Anymore” and the song that follows — “BOY” featuring Jace of Two-9 — you could compare the production of her songs to FKA twigs and Dawn Richard but crafted in a more subtle way, as they’d probably sound if William Blake produced them. But her vocals are something else. They are softer somehow, smooth as silk; you hear these songs and feel as though your head is resting on a silk pillow. “It’s now or never / Should’ve known better / All alone,” she sings, seemingly reminiscing about a failed relationship. And when she sings “I know you’re talking boy,” you’ll want to punch the guy in question in the face. As for Jace’s rap, it fits the tone of the song beautifully.

Just when you think the EP couldn’t become more of an audible drug along comes “Seventh,” with Tricky-esque atmospherics and punchy beats. It begins to lull you off to sleep, triggering instant REM, but then the beats are like cymbals crashing beside your head, preventing you from falling fully asleep. I suppose that doesn’t sound terribly pleasant, but it can bring about some wonderful lucid dreaming.

Closer “ROSENWOOD | Pour The Whiskey” is somewhat different than the rest of the EP. It begins with hyperactive beats reminiscent of Björk’s “Hunter” and these beats more or less continue as Bosco sings, her voice ethereal. You wouldn’t have expected these sort of beats from her and the lyrics are somewhat mind-boggling, so it’s not a logical conclusion to the album. However, it’s a gorgeous slice of electro-art-pop. So much so that when you’ve finished the EP you’re not sure if you want her next release to be more like the prior tracks on the album or this one. Hopefully, it’ll be a balanced mix of both styles. Suffice to say that Bosco’s mind is of the highly creative type. Instead of being compared to other artists, soon people will be comparing other artists to her. Bravo, then.

EP BUY LINK : http://smarturl.it/BOYEP

bosco1000

NOTE: I realize this is an EP, not an LP, so some of you might think it shouldn’t qualify as an #albumoftheday.  However, I view EPs as mini-albums, thus I consider them eligible.  


Posted

in

, , ,

by

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *