Album Review

The Boxer Rebellion – The Cold Still

• 25th Feb 2011

The Boxer Rebellion (TBR) and their album ‘The Cold Still’ have for the last week or so, left me conflicted as to how to approach this established yet meandering sound of theirs. Opening with an uninspiring track certainly doesn’t help engage your listener, no matter how well composed and balanced your songs might be and no matter how they undeniably illustrate your depth and urgency.

Echoing Coldplay, David Gray, Bluetones, Aqualung and sometimes James, their M.O.R. music and lead vocal (which together easily outweigh most chart-fodder) still leaves me wanting. Maybe their accessibility or anthemic angles need to be worked harder… So, an abundance of well executed and original music, it just seems to somehow dissatisfy. Intrigued? Try ‘The Runner’ for a taster.