Boston Manor are back with a bang on their sophomore full length, ‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’. Showing an impressive evolution sonically and lyrically, the Blackpool fivesome have climbed to new heights with this release. Having spent their first album cycle consistently touring and expanding their horizons, it is clear that the band have brought a new energy to their sound, breaking boundaries along the way.

Although it undoubtedly tests new waters, ‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’, will not come as a total surprise to Boston Manor fans. As a band, they have always been hard to place into a singular genre, and this album is no different. It is gritty, heavy and impressively haunting.

Thematically the album deals with the issues facing the band’s generation, and their own disdain for it in some cases. Flowers In Your Dustbin expresses a dispassion as vocalist and lyricist Henry Cox sings, “I threw up blood in the fountain of youth/ I don’t have a place, I don’t have a home/ I take my meds, I live through my phone,” cutting through the triviality of one’s existence in a grungy and distorted tone. The theme is carried throughout the album and echoed in Funeral Party, “Give me something to do/ Give me a job/ Give me something to prove/ Give me a heart/ Give me morality/ Give me a soul/ Give me cheap alcohol & put me on the dole.”

An appropriate summary of the album can be found in single Bad Machine which was released in August, accompanied by an impressive video directed by Cox himself. The song manages to be both aggressive and moving, much like the album as a whole, pleading “I just wanna be someone/ I just wanna be something.”

‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’ is an album that’s here to show the talents and hunger of a band bringing something new and exciting to the scene. ‘Welcome To The Neighbourhood’ is a dynamic, powerful and original triumph for Boston Manor.

‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood is released today (7 September).