Review: Boardwalk – Boardwalk

Mike Edge and Amber Quintero are relatively new besties. After only being introduced at a party in summer 2012, a whirlwind of musical chemistry exploded and Boardwalk was born. A road trip and a signing to legendary Stone’s Throw records later, and here we are with their self-titled debut album.

So what exactly is Boardwalk? I hear you ask. Their signing to Stones Throw would probably conjure up ideas of the chilled out hip-hop variety: sun-soaked and jazz-tinged. But you’d be wrong. Boardwalk are indie dreamscape, self-conscious shoegaze and psych-pop in its truest form.

‘I’m Not Myself’ is the first track on the record and indeed the first song to be written by the duo. It’s a satisfying tune, almost resembling a nursery rhyme in its simplicity. It chugs along nicely, much like the road trip it was written on…

But it soon becomes apparent that Boardwalk are a one trick pony. Song after song gives the listener more of the same: dreamscapes, ethereal melodies with only a hint of percussion and a slowed down drum beat for company – nice, but nicely boring. Quitero’s voice begins quite beguiling but – just as with the quality of songwriting here – it becomes tiresome very quickly. Don’t get me wrong, for lazy, hazy Sundays spent drifting in and out of sleep, this album is perfect, but coming out on Stone’s Throw I’d expect something a little more challenging.

That being said, the production on the album is both fitting and beautiful. The staunchly analogue feel was something that Edge wanted to stay true to, and that he’s achieved whole-heartedly. The only problem is that in doing so, the album loses all notions of excitement and freshness and becomes stuck in its default setting of afternoon psych-pop. Boardwalk might only have been around for a short while, but that’s about the only thing that’s fresh about them.

– Liz Ward