The Boo Radleys return further emboldened with new music
Having completed six, emotionally-charged and joyously-received live shows around the UK this autumn, with rumours of more to come, The Boo Radleys return further emboldened with new music, revealing the synth-dashed, lilting indie pop of You And Me. Drawn from their long-awaited, seventh studio album, Keep On With Falling, set for release on Fri 11 March 2022, the song finds the re-energised band huddled in harmony-rich melancholy.
Experience counts for everything and the three-piece mine life’s peaks, troughs and in-betweens once more with You And Me, this time holding the spectre of poor health and ripple effects of anger, sorrow and hope to the light. Having relaunched the band by taking on assisted-dying in A Full Syringe And Memories Of You and following up to tackle religion in I’ve Had Enough I’m Out, The Boo Radleys of today shed the doubt that surrounded their 1999 split in favour of decisive and incisive songwriting.
Launching Keep On With Falling by pointing to the new start for the band as more democratic than ever, swapping writing duties between members and pushing the limits of DIY recording, the gap of almost 25 years between albums has trimmed the rough-edges of youth while embracing The Boo Radleys undimmable creative drive.
Bassist and vocalist, Tim Brown says of the single: “The spectre of cancer hangs over the song and is the ‘he’ that the lyrics refer to. He’s there, waiting to tear everything apart, but hope springs eternal and like the song says ‘we’ll find a way’. It’s warming to hear the chorus featuring vocals from all three Boo’s in perfect harmony, elevating that sense of hope.”
The band’s four-track digital EP, A Full Syringe And Memories Of You, makes the leap from the intangible to the physical with a limited vinyl release to mark Record Store Day’s Black Friday. A notoriously collectible band for crate-diggers, with copies of 1993’s Giant Steps listed by online sellers for as much as £250 per mint-condition vinyl copy, the first physical release from the band since 1998’s Kingsize finally gives fans of the band something new to hold onto.
Rising from cult-shoegaze band to the very forefront of British guitar pop inside one, eventful decade in their first incarnation, The Boo Radleys story moves on under the tutelage of original members Brown, Sice, and Rob Cieka.
Genre-indistinct and weary of attempts to be cast into any particular scene, the band’s unorthodox journey began with their first album, Ichabod and I, released by Lancashire’s Action Records in 1990. The response saw an ascendant Creation Records pick the band up and, capitalising on momentum, Everything’s Alright Forever was released to positive reviews in 1992 before Giant Steps cemented the band’s position in the eyes of listeners and critics alike the following year.
1995’s runaway hit, Wake Up Boo! lifted from their UK Album Chart Number One album, Wake Up! gave the band their moment in the spotlight, climbing towards the upper reaches of the UK Singles Chart at No.9 and sound tracking the optimistic springtime of that year. Their 1996 follow up, C’Mon Kids! and Kingsize completed the set for The Boo Radleys before their split in 1999.
Continuing to raise glasses and tip hats to old friend, original guitarist and songwriter with onstage dedications at each live appearance, The Boo Radleys forge their new and exciting path without Martin Carr in the current line-up.