Album Review

Boxes – Stickers

• 4th Jun 2012

Following on from last year’s award-winning Silent Alarm EP, Boxes returns with his debut album Stickers. The man behind Boxes is multi-instrumentalist Carey Willetts, the bass player from rock band Athlete.

In this collection of songs he mixes electronica with rock to achieve an interesting synthesis, although in places it feels like experimentation just for the sake of it. But the key strength shown in this album is the songwriting, and the lyrical quality of Willetts’ work is at times excellent.

The opening instrumental, called One, begins with a meandering electronic melody, an assortment of odd sounds mixed over a synth melody. And then a guitar crashes in, its strident chords pulling the track in a very different direction. It’s an overture to the album really, as Boxes makes his intended musical fusion clear from the off.

The first half of the album is very strong. Throw Your Stones starts gently, the singer resigned to criticism he has received. But he has an answer: the refrain ‘What’s coming now will blow your mind’ is repeated as the pace rises.

Red Skies, released as a single, is a fine indie love song, although the strange synth effects add little. It’s a tale of loss and regret, but the big chorus makes clear that he won’t give up and will pursue the object of his affections, his red sky (at night?)

The next track, Sharks, returns to the theme of responding to criticism in a fine piano driven song that tells of the negative response to the explicit video that accompanied previous single Silent Alarm. But again there is defiance; clear from the repeated ‘I’m still here’. Musically this is the simplest track on the album and it benefits from the space given to the vocals.

Between Whisky and Snow has a long synth intro before the lyrics start, a nostalgic tale of good times with loved ones and a drink or two. The guitar comes in near the end and the closing section of the six minute plus track is vibrant and powerful.

The title track is gentle and reflective, an acoustic guitar backing a good strong vocal that drips with bittersweet memories. With both strings and a synth this is another one that could perhaps have been simpler and more effective.

Much of the second half of the album merges into one, to be honest. It’s pleasant enough but lacks impact. Silent Alarm is a slow love song, although it bursts into life with a big chorus. Wake Up Wake Up is similarly paced. Dominoes has a nice bass line and a gentle relaxed feel before lyrics that tell of it all falling apart. Don’t Look Down has a high pitched electronic melody that could be from a musical box.

Then the closer, I Can’t Imagine, ends the album in beautiful fashion. It tells of the singer’s reaction to the difficult birth of his son in a highly emotional style and Willetts gives a fine vocal performance, expressive and passionate. He takes a personal experience and makes it universal, the mark of a really good songwriter.

There is an inevitable air of experimentation in a lot of solo albums and that comes through clearly in Stickers. I can’t criticize Boxes for trying out new approaches and different musical techniques, but it is perhaps expected that some will work better than others.

This is an interesting album with several high points and a number of good songs on it, although it is uneven. Whether Willets will continue to use his talents in a solo manner or returns to life as a member of a band remains to be seen. For now he has given us a demonstration of his talents as a songwriter and vocalist.