Boys Night Out
Make Yourself Sick

Referring to the melting pot of post-hardcore bands from the 2000s, everyone, rightly, calls upon true legends like Thrice and Thursday. However, unfairly these four lads from Ontario are not considered, who at the time of the release of "Make Yourself Sick", their first full-length, garnered quite a bit of admiration. But unlike the previously mentioned groups, these guys were guilty of not being able to maintain high standards, producing a couple of completely forgettable flops in the following years.

But let's go in order. In this work, Boys Night Out tackle the overused theme of murdering one's girlfriend, very dear to the subsequent screamo scene, in a totally new, bewildering, sadistic way. Sadistic because most of the songs rest on a solid pop-punk base, giving an almost carefree tone to the terrible events being described; but when you least expect it, screams layered over each other come in, time changes, and intricate arpeggios. Let's pause for a moment on the lyrics; reading them without listening to the song, the high number of alliterations (!) becomes evident, I don't know how intentional, but it's noteworthy nonetheless. Some examples:

"you better bring your baseball bat or better because broken bones and black eyes are a safe bet" in "(Just Once) Let's do Something Different"

"caring came to the crime scene but bloodlust beat them back" in "The First Time it Shouldn't Taste Like Blood"

"chronicle the chemicals, but don't forget the cigarettes" in "The Fine Art of Making Out Alive"

As the titles may suggest, the structure of the tracks is anything but trivial: the opening hit "I Got Punched in the Nose for Sticking my Face in Other People's Business" is ideal for sing-along and clapping in time, and even the inevitable ballad ("It's Dylan, You Know the Drill") turns out to be unconventional, with a slow and sweet initial arpeggio that soon bursts into various heart-wrenching screams. Also noteworthy is "The Anatomy of the Journey," which blends elements of pure screamo chaos with more pop-like ones, leaving the listener stunned. Forget the classic alternation of scream-clean singing, here it's all a stab, almost reminiscent of what happens to the poor girl, transitioning between the most different emotional states more times within a single track, but not casually, the clear intent is to confuse; every scream is emphasized by the bass and drums. The presence of the bass is quite predominant, especially during the lulls, giving a slight hardcore touch that doesn't hurt.

It's truly a shame they got lost over the years, but this is certainly a gem not to be left forgotten.