The Boys with Perpetual Nervousness introduced their 12-string, retro-flavored power pop on the album Dead Calm in 2019. A collaboration between indie pop specialists Andrew Taylor (
Dropkick) and Gonzalo Marco (
El Palacio de Linares),
the Boys subtly shift the balance from earlier influences toward 1990s acts like
Teenage Fanclub on the follow-up, Songs from Another Life. Following the lead of Taylor's tender, low-contrast vocals, however, they remain clear of punchy, jagged components, with the laid-back jangle of
the Byrds and the late-summer sun shining through even their liveliest offerings. On the brisk "Can't You See?," for instance, they push the tempo and harmonic rhythm without sacrificing that feeling of warm sustain. Chock-full of encouraging lyrics and tuneful melodies, Songs from Another Life never pauses for a ballad, instead dancing along basslines through a second set of ten songs that average under three minutes each. Highlights include potential earworm "Waking Up in the Sunshine" and "How I Really Feel," a keyboard-dappled track that, despite its title, is more sympathetic than scolding ("And better days, you're not tired or bothered by feeling scared..."). Elsewhere, "Lethargy" is anything but inert, delivering more of the project's buoyant rhythms and bittersweet melodies. If it weren't surprising enough to learn that the band's rich, webby sound is the work of merely two, Songs from Another Life was recorded by Taylor and Marco separately in their respective bases of Scotland and Spain, with oversight by producer Yon Vidaur, who worked with Marco in Madrid. ~ Marcy Donelson