I think I’m entering my own personal chick-rock renaissance. I know that sounds weird, but stay with me. I’m not saying I wasn’t listening to girl groups in the past. I was down with the Heartless Bastards and The Donnas way back when, but honestly that was about it. I don’t know why. Did I have blinders on before? Was I sexist pig that has only now accepted the fact that ladies are rock stars too? Both are possibilities. Regardless of my lacking past, in the recent months I’ve been listening to more lady rock than ever before. The Coathangers, Dum Dum Girls, Haim, Nelson Can…all of them ladies and all of them rocking harder than most bands out there today. This week I add another band led by the fairer of the two sexes. They are 2 girls and 1 dude mixed and served as the trio known as BOYTOY. They’re this week’s ARTIST OF THE WEEK!
The line up is as follows:
Vocals: Saara Untracht Oakner
Guitar: Glenn Michael VanDyke
Drums: Mathew Gregory (Drummer on EP is Dylan Ramsey)
BOYTOY is a Brooklyn/ Boston based trio offering up a heavy dose fun with songs that feature dueling guitars, sugary pop melodies, and playful lyrics and harmonies. Their songs are upbeat and unbelievably catchy. It’s near impossible to keep your feet from tapping while listening to the latest release TV Dreams.
Prior to TV Dreams, BOYTOY tantalized listeners with their pop laced rock track Visits, which harks back to the days of 90’s rock like the Breeders. Other writers have made that comparison as well. It was inevitable that comparison get made because this is a band fronted by women. Occasionally their songs do have a Breeders vibe, but in my personal opinion BOYTOY is way more fun than The Breeders ever were. In January they released their video for Visits . It stars Horatio Sanz. Where’s that dude been? You can download the track now though their bandcamp.
One of my favorite tracks they have out currently is their song Runner. The opening to the song starts with a parade of drums and a wailing amp squeal. Reminds me of the opening to Nirvana’s School. Where Nirvana went full thrash on that song, BOYTOY flips Runner on it’s head and turns what begins as an assault, into a warm embrace.
I recently saw BOYTOY perform at Niagra bar in New York City and they did not disappoint. The fact that they closed with The Ramones’ The KKK Took My Baby Away was really the icing on the cake for me. Check out this band. Make sure to download their self-titled EP due out May 13th. If you’re in the New York area, they will be having a record release show on May 23rd. Check out the details on their Facebook page.
Big Hugs,
Kelly
LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/boytoyband
https://twitter.com/boytoyband