The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever

Genre rock Publisher Too Young To Die Records External Links Official The Boy Least Likely To Website Official Too Young To Die Records Website

The Boy Least Likely To's The Best Party Ever heralds the triumphant return of the glockenspiel - and I'll bet you never noticed it left! The whole album, with it's sparse arrangements, pop hooks and usage of "cute" instruments (banjo, recorder, fiddle), conjures images of one of those Little Golden Books - until you listen closely to some of the lyrics and realize that there's a healthy dose of Edward Gorey-esque darkness and melancholy simmering just beneath the surface. Adding to the storybook feel are colorfully scratched drawings in the album art that could easily be mistaken for characters out of A Spaniard in the Works. There's a vulnerability revealed under the candy pop that's both endearing and infuriating. Like a moody, arty Ex; you feel privileged to share their sad nostalgic thoughts until it becomes pathetically self-indulgent, effectively daring you to smack them.

TBLLT (actually two boys: Jof and Peter - which makes choosing a tense with which to refer to them/him rather sticky; I'm going with singular) walks this line reasonably well. The tone is set in the first track and single "Be Gentle With Me," a song that's both a warning and an explanation. It's deceptively upbeat yet juxtaposed with nihilistic lyrics: "I just want to sparkle for a moment/before I just fizzle out and die." While this contradictory combination is far from being an original device, it works well when coupled with a sparkling glockenspiel and pizzicato banjo. "Monsters" indulges a paranoid view of everyone around him turning into something he doesn't recognize as they aspire to the status quo: getting married, having kids, "picking patterns out for curtains." The "monsters" add to the alienation by assuring The Boy "how happy I would be/if I could just be more like them." He shakes this reverie and recognizes his lack of perspective in the fourth track, "Paper Cuts": "They're just paper cuts/I shouldn't beat myself up/over little things the way I do" only to fall back into himself on "I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes." These lead up to the album's charmer "I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star," a rollicking calliope journey that eventually peters out and falls apart, as paralleled by the song.

Lyrically TBLLT is sad and scared, eternally internally scrutinizing and needlessly hard on himself but right when you're lifting your hand to belt him he acquiesces and acknowledges his processes. Musically the pop sensibility, country twinge and occasional disco high hat allow these introspective lyrics to float and flow almost unnoticed, underscoring the inherently gilded nature of life, love and relationships. Instrumentally I don't think it's a good idea to use a recorder - ever - let alone on more than one track, and the glock/banjo combo, as endearing and delicate as it is, gets over-used, diminishing the effect. It won't be stuck in your player for days at a time but it's certainly worth an occasional listening for the refreshing blend of childish lilt, adult conscience and (almost) happy ending.