Expanded to a duo, Boy In Static abandons its pleasantly derivative dream-pop, choosing something closer to the saccharine sweetness of Peter Bjorn and John—with uneven results.
Sifting through the melancholy cool and reverb-laden muck of Violet, Boy In Static's sophomore album, I acknowledged this restless songwriter's potential bubbling under the surface. Caught in the trappings of a subgenre with presumably scarce room to trailblaze, Alexander Chen still managed to construct an acceptable and often gratifying facsimile with more than a few personal touches. Now paired up with Kenji Ross, Chen seems eager to leave that part of his catalog far behind, letting his voice ride atop songs like "Starlet" instead of buried below swirling guitar effects.
The album's title hints playfully at a time in a child's development where he discovers ways to emulate the adult men he looks up to. As a boy in the '80s, I distinctly recall buying candy cigarettes—both the gum and chalky varieties—from the ice cream truck that parked itself outside my elementary school the minute warm weather began to creep out from under winter's unkind influence. New York was a different place back then, yet lyrically Chen seems more preoccupied with the West Coast as evinced on "LA Runaways" and the album's most singleworth ditty, "Young San Francisco." On the latter track, AFX-ish quasi-xylophonic twinkles courtesy of a toy piano provide a joyful melody for the bubblegum rhythms and positively precious vocals. Musically, this song embodies everything the new Boy In Static strives to be, and its aesthetic similarities to "Young Folks" from the aforementioned Peter Bjorn and John won't be lost on anyone paying attention.
Unfortunately, Candy Cigarette contains more aspiration than inspiration, filled with fleeting emotive moments and flickers of talent, but so very rarely shining brilliant. What concerns me most about this is whether or not I flatteringly mistook Boy In Static's capacity for imitation for artistic authenticity. It's a decent indie pop record, with novelty quirks and quite a few respectable nods to New Order (especially on "Osaka"), but Chen and Ross need to assess whether or not they're as clever as they think.
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