Boyskout Issue #30

Another Life (Three Ring Records)

By Alyson Mead
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

Boyskout’s Leslie Satt erfield may have grown up in the warm climes of Georgia, but her heart seems to be firmly implanted in the cold, gray rain of the British Isles. Oft-compared (favorably, I think) to the Cure’s Robert Smith, she pouts and preens like a good goth girl but has a lot more smarts, not to mention songwriting skills, than the label would suggest. After all, all-black clothes don’t write the music, and Satterfield sounds like she could kiss or kill you, depending on her mood (or color palette).  

In the days since the band released School of Etiquette in 2004, they’ve become more focused and tighter in their playing. Neat drumming brings Joy Division and early New Order to mind, while the more melodic elements, like clever keyboard lines by Christina Stanley, channel Mary Timony, with and without Helium. “The Model” has some phrasing straight outta Nico and “Suicide” had me thinking about the Cure again — full circle.  

Embodying the attitude of Le Tigre in songs like “Happy Yet” (with its excellent organ line) and the sweetness of The Shangri-Las in “You’re Not Around” (I dig that crazy, half-drugged background singing), Boyskout manages to defy categorization. So maybe there is a God, and s/he likes to rock a little black now and again.