Boys These Days Just Don't Do It Like Sports Team
photo by Bartek Szmigulski
If you want bad boys who will lift you up and tear you down, Sports Team can help you out. With three singles released and a melting pot of art on its way, “Boys These Days” will take you on an emotional adventure, just like your last boy did.
After hitting it big with their single “Here's The Thing’’ in 2020, Sports Team is paying homage to their fame during the pandemic indie craze where they dominated “indiecore” TikTok alongside Wallows and Peachpit, and participating in the “Shoegaze Revival” (coined by Farout Magazine) with their third studio album “Boys These Days”.
The band, which was formed during their collegiate years at Cambridge University during the mid-2010s, is composed of six members, who wildly contrast each other which makes for an impressively diverse discography. The band has made noise in the media for being “the most unserious band”; they can be recognized for their rowdy nightlife, which consists of taking out entire audiences to the bar after their shows, and being one of the best live bands in England.
Diving into the indie tones with brawny reverb and a melodic synthesised keyboard - mastered by bandmate Ben Mack, their first track off of the album “I'm In Love (Subaru)” was first released as a single in the middle of summer. This song of the summer is coated with flirty jazz instrumentals (headed by Don Fagerquist, whose most notable work was done on Nat Cole King's “L-O-V-E” release.)
After reinventing jazz, with a showstopper first track, Sports Team released their second single off the album, “Condensation”. This track along with the rest of the album can be recognized for its use of influence from a plethora of other artists including, The Cure, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Blur - and various other “Brit-pop” artists.
The rest of the tracks off the album turn this album into a complete avant-garde, bright piece of art. Most notable being “Sensible” which transports you to the sweaty Portland Arms pub they performed in during the early days of their band.
Another track which is destined to make the charts when released is “Bonnie”. This song which seems to do an entire 180 from the rest of the songs on the album, starts off with a funky hip-hop beat, which somehow utilizes a cow bell, but also seems like it could be in the soundtrack for a space thriller - if this description seems like it makes no sense it’s because it doesn’t, but somehow they make it work. And it really works.
And last but certainly not least, the title track off the album “Boys These Days” is a sweet combination of disco, jaz,z and grunge reverbs that acts as a perfect trailer for the rest of the album.
After releasing their final single “Bang Bang Bang”, Sports Team will make public their junior album “Boys these days” on May 23. While the band does have a few shows lined up for the upcoming months there is no tour…yet.