The debut release from this synthesiser duo of Andrew Fogarty and Ivan Pawle is a raw but ultimately unsatisfying release which fails to capture the full potential of the group. The basic ingredients are here but they have not come together yet. That being said, this is far from a bad release but based on this EP alone there is not a lot to separate Boys of Summer from the countless other CD-R/tape culture groups out there.
Like any newborn creature, here Boys of Summer take their first uncertain steps, still covered in the glistening afterbirth that protected them until now. With V they show signs of their capabilities but fail to co- ordinate them properly. “Summertime Greys” at first sounds like a deformed and far lengthier cousin to Throbbing Gristle’s “Industrial Introduction” before launching off into the upper regions of the atmosphere and hovering unnaturally. However, it begins to shudder after a while and falls back down to earth; the piece seems to be far longer than it needs to be. Although, they do rescue it at the very end with a monster jam that sounds like reality rupturing but unfortunately the momentum is lost too early in the piece to salvage it fully.
“Aerial Harassment” finally sees Boys of Summer firing on all cylinders. The queasy dissonance creating a haze of upset noises which show what kind of power is lurking within these men and their machines. It is probably no coincidence that this sudden burst of incredible music features two extra musicians who help expand the range of the group beyond the straightforward but interesting take on jamming with synths that makes up the rest of the EP. Finally, the bonus track on the 2nd edition of this EP, “Zoned out of Life” revisits the ground explored during “Summertime Greys.” This piece is less busy than “Summertime Greys” and works better overall but misses out on the awesome ending of “Greys.”
Having seen these guys live (and based on their second EP, click here for more on that), I know they have more going for them when they get into their stride. The untempered music has its moments of power and V and even at its weakest, it is still a decent exploration of the limits of analogue synths. Yet at the end of the day, V feels more like a warning shot than a fully realised work.
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