The world is drowning in vaguely skatey-sounding pop-punk bands who all seem to think that having one of their songs on the menu screen to EA NFL Street 32 is a high career watermark.
Superficially, Say Anything are one of these bands, since they tick all the requisite boxes; thrashy guitar numbers containing somewhat rebellious lyrics sung with a strong, almost cartoonish American accent. However, let Say Anything …Is A Real Boy into your life and you won't be able to help finding its twitchy, eccentric, subversive, restless music just a teeny bit endearing.
Of course, a group of hair-gelled boys in big shorts making music to soundtrack compilations of BMX riders – which is what Say Anything mostly sound like, at least – is just about the least endearing thing in the universe, but Say Anything pull it off with consummate ease on …Is A Real Boy. Right from the moment you hear a recording of a man agonising over what to say during the album's spoken-word introduction, you can't help but be intrigued about what treasures you'll pick up over the other 56 minutes of …Is A Real Boy.
Say Anything …Is A Real Boy just pummels you with ideas from the outset. Although the music is, at heart, just a series of variation of the usual Weezer-influenced US college rock blueprint, none of the songs on …Is A Real Boy can sit still even for a minute without chopping about with tempos and melodies. But that's not where the fun lies on Say Anything ...Is A Real Boy – the real enjoyment comes from hearing all the lyrical flourishes that pour out of singer Max Bemis.
For example, Woe begins with the line "All the words in my mouth that the scene deemed unworthy of letting out banded together to form a makeshift militia and burrowed bloodily through my tongue and my teeth," while the forlorn sigh at the end of Spidersong is worth the price of admission alone. Best of all is bitter break-up song Every Man Has A Molly, which sees Bemis admonishing all the Say Anything fans for him not having a girlfriend, singing:
"Molly Connolly just broke up with me over the revealing nature of the songs. You goddamn kids had best be gracious with the merch money you spend because for you I won't ever have rough sex with Molly Connolly again."
If we had to level one criticism at Say Anything …Is A Real Boy, it's that the constant inventiveness wears you down over the course of an hour. Perhaps Say Anything …Is A Real Boy would have benefited from a slight dilution to make the listen a little less full-on. However, if that meant the end of gems like the ones studded throughout this album, we'd be equally happy if Say Anything ignored this advice completely.
Now buy Say Anything …Is A Real Boy from Amazon
[story by Stuart Heritage]