The Bohos

Reminds us of: Oasis, the Stone Roses, the Damned

Links to music in Blue. 

The first time I heard ‘Shakermaker’ by Oasis I was blown away. I’d been steadily falling out of love with guitar music for a couple of years at that time, but hearing that I was seriously impressed. A great tune, well written, oozing with swagger. I’d hoped that they’d make a great album after that, and so they did with Definitely Maybe, which I put on the other day and thought that it still sounded wonderful. 

I was reminded of that Shakermaker moment in May of this year when I heard Stupid by the Boho’s for the first time. There are definite similarities between the two bands in terms of production and overall sound, as well as that sense of confidence that comes out and says ‘we know we’ve made a great song here’, although they don’t seem to be benefiting from the same level of hype that Oasis had when they first emerged.

Having merrily feasted on ‘Stupid’ I wondered if they could get anywhere near to that standard again with their next release, but reassuringly they have. Already Dead came out at the end of June and it’s also a cracker.

The band come from Liverpool and have been around for about 3 years. Lead singer Finn Power has the distinction of being John Power of Cast’s son. Similar to another of the North West’s great bands the Stone Roses, it would appear as though the bands’ early output is pretty forgettable compared to these latest two singles. As with the Roses, Stupid and Already Dead represent a significant evolution in the same way that Elephant Stone and the first Stone Roses’s album was.    

‘Stupid’ starts anonymously with a muted guitar refrain before launching into a powerful riff, soon accompanied by a very confident vocal that absolutely revels in its scouse roots. It’s an immense song that culminates with a wicked riff. Already Dead follows a similar pattern, with the guitar and vocal sound really giving the band character and identity, with a Led Zep like break in the middle. Stirring stuff.   

It will be interesting to see how the band develop over the coming months. By all accounts they toured nationally with Cast late last year, but since Stupid came out I haven’t seen them play a single gig outside of their native Liverpool. If that continues I can’t see them building up a massive fan base, which is a real shame. Musically they’ve set the bar really high with these two singles, and hopefully the quality of their output will continue in the same vein.