Single Review: Alone

Here we have the debut single from The Boondocks, a young rock duo I have caught live a few times over the last six months or so and who made it through to the final of the Ding Dong Lounge Battle of the Bands towards the end of last year. Comprising Scott Parker (bass, vocals) and Brandon Pritchard (drums), they have an unusual approach in that Scott puts his bass through a pedal board which allows himself to create a thick guitar sound when he wishes, so they often sound more like a trio than a duo, crunching the riffs, but also mixing it up so that we get different layers of sound, quite different to many of the other duos on the circuit as he is playing a bass and coming to a guitar sound from that level, as opposed to playing guitar directly.

In some ways this approach is quite reminiscent of Motörhead and Lemmy’s approach to the bass, although here it is far more melodic and not as brutally heavy, with a commercial and hook element to their songs. While Scott is doing the melodic work, he is more than ably supported by Brandon who is has an all-encompassing approach to drums, and while this is a new band and the guys are both young, Brandon has undertaken plenty of live work with Channeled, who also made it through to the finals of the same event. I recognise this number from the times I have seen them play, and producer Scoot Seabright has captured the vitality of the band and added a touch of smoothness while not losing any of the power. Crunchy, filthy, and quite stoner in attitude, this is a solid debut.