XL Life – The Boogie Down South
Release Date: 27th January 2023
Label: Venn Records
Spotify
Genre: Hardcore, Punk.
FFO: Turnstile, Fever 333, Off!.
Review By: Anthony Petitt
The Boogie Down South is the debut album from Welsh Hardcore quartet XL Life. Shout, the opening song, subverts the expectations put onto a Punk band by featuring jazzy drums and piano, eventually joined by a two part vocal harmony, consisting of a spoken word part and a rap part in unison. This makes for an unconventional but alluring start to the record.
If You Want It, You Can Get It presents the real meat of the album: straight ahead aggressive Hardcore. The riffing and drums are frantic, the vocals match their energy perfectly, and the mid-tune breakdown is simple but effective. Control has a lot to appreciate: bouncy, driving drums, an overdriven single-coil sounding guitar, and catchy, uplifting lyrics to seal the deal. The next song Baby Steps features Bob Vylan, a great artist in his own right. Bob’s sections are musically ethereal and almost Deftones-like, and his vocals bring a hard edge and flow. The rest of the song is fast and aggressive.
Feeling Away is heavy but very danceable too. The drums are crisp, and the bass sounds nice and fat. The guitar riffs on The Boogie Down South are generally very simple, but are played tightly and convey the passion behind the instrument. Just Do It is the most chaotic sounding song on the record, until the calming second-half electronic breakdown. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but somehow it does. The following song These Days is an upbeat, feel-good listen. The guitar tone is exquisite, but it occurred to me at this point in the record that the vocals have been very repetitive, and if you don’t dig them, you probably won’t get much enjoyment out of this release. You’ll know after a couple of songs whether this band is for you or not. Happy listening! 
(3.5 / 5)
