Blueboy Unisex

Blueboy's first full-length LP for Sarah Records was recorded in a barn in Oxfordshire in a little under two weeks and, from opener So Catch Him – with its tumbling call-and-response chorus and Keith's winsomely accusatory "and did you care, when I cut my hair, 'cos I WANTED you to..." – to the twin-storm of guitars on regular set-closer Imipramine ("freaking out on Katy's bathroom, red tablets screwing you up..."), it's clear that the band were now able to effortlessly craft, create and polish to an immaculate sheen their mesmerising songs, without ever losing their warmth and humanity. The breadth of imagination across the dozen tracks is extraordinary: after trading vocals in extolling The Joy of Living’s jazzy, wry truths ("all I wanted to say is I'm so happy – of course it's not love, but I'm not choosy, I just want to kiss you in new places, to savour the joy of living, liking you..."), Keith and Gemma switch to telling their own fraught stories of love and sex simultaneously through left and right speakers on Fleetway; while beneath the taut guitar atmospherics of Lazy Thunderstorms, drifting and rainsoaked, the words are just a murmur in the waves ("scratching hope on your heart, scratching hope on your heart..."). Throughout, Keith’s lyrics are intimate, honest, personal and unforgettable. "You said boys don't matter," he sings with moist-eyed optimism over shimmering cascades of guitar. "It's a view I've held for years, all those evening running home in tears...