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Jul 25, 2023 Web Exclusive By Ian Rushbury

For a brief moment, sometime in the ’90s, The Boo Radleys ruled the UK. Their Britpop anthem “Wake Up Boo” blared out of transistor radios the length and breadth of the British Isles, causing waves of optimism to ripple across anyone within earshot. It was cool to be British then. It was even cooler to be in a British band. But by far the coolest thing to be was a British band on the same label as Oasis. The Boo Radleys ticked all the boxes. Sadly, after all great parties comes the hangover and the band faded away, only to reconvene in 2022, but without principal songwriter Martin Carr. Eight is the second album by the Boos 2.0.

The headline is that Eight is a good solid pop rock album. Yes, it does sound like it could have come out in 1996, but there’s nothing wrong with that. A good song is a good song, no matter when it’s written and this record is full of good songs. Some tunes definitely fly the Britpop flag—the opening song “Seeker” and “Now That’s What I Call Obscene” are prime examples. “Seeker” has some classic ’90s staccato piano chords and trumpet lines, while “Now That’s What I Call Obscene” has a woozy, music hall feel in the same vein as “She’s Electric” by Oasis. Fortunately, The Boo Radleys develop that theme a little better.

Losing Martin Carr seems to have galvanized the remaining three members (Tim Brown on bass guitar and keyboards, Rob Cieka on drums, and Simon “Sice” Rowbottom on vocals and guitar) into sharpening their songwriting skills. “The Way I Am” is a lovely piece of pop rock, with plenty of cute twists and turns and a great vocal from Sice. The band seem undiminished by their loss.

Eight manages to balance ’90s nostalgia with a hatful of great contemporary tunes which should please the faithful and silence the critics who have nailed The Boo Radleys forever to 1995. It proves you can peep over your shoulder occasionally, as long as you keep moving forward. (www.thebooradleys.com)

Author rating: 8/10