Bosch, The “Hurry Up EP”

“The Bosch are a NYC combo that rocks out in all the right ways. They describe their music as…”a New York City quartet who sounds something like what might happen “if Brian Wilson, Dick Dale, and Joey Ramone stayed up all night taking speed pills and Ritalin.” Heck, that works for me. Although Dick Dale would kick both skinny Joey’s and pansy Brian’s asses.”

I usually don’t read e-mails from publicists — sorry… I know it must take so long to cut and paste our names (usually incompletely or incorrectly) into the form messages you send out that often do not reflect any real understanding of what this blog does — but Tony’s pitch for The Bosch caught my eye. Now, I’m not usually one for crazy, mixed-up comparisons, and I almost got lost in the ones provided for The Bosch: Joey Ramone, Dick Dale and Brian Wilson, or maybe The White Stripes, The Violent Femmes and Phil Spector, or even The Clash, the Femmes, Spector, Bruce Springsteen and Man… Or Astroman. However, I like enough of these performers to download a few tracks, and I liked them enough to share them with you. This NYC quartet offers short, rich, intense songs that are better enjoyed on their own, without comparison. These are from their newest album, Hurry Up, while four more off Buy One, Get One, from 2005, are available on the band’s website.

This high energy, fast-paced, pop/punk/rock quartet from New York City will rock your world and have you on your feet, dancing, jumping, and screaming before the end of the first track.

They are loud and rowdy and know exactly how to be mean and fun. The Bosch boasts a weird yet powerful sound that is probably what you would get if the Ramones and the New York Dolls were on ecstasy while having an orgy with the Violent Femmes and the White Stripes in a Quentin Tarantino movie!

Buy One Get One is the band’s second independent release and one hell of a ride, going through nine songs in just twenty minutes. They’re fast but focused and never lose control of what drives this super speedy experience. The opening track, “Come on Phillie,” the catchy “Back to the Laboratory,” and the purely instrumental “Napoleon Invades Russia” are some of the favorites on the album. The Bosch boys are good songwriters and have a keyboard player who also plays clarinet and sax, adding a flare of ‘50s rock on tracks such as “Teenage Symphony” and “Matching Girlfriend.”

They play with style and gusto, and just when you think you’ve figured them out, they take a wild turn on the next song. And that could be their greatest asset: having a very unique style without having to stick to it! There are not very many bands that can get away with that, but The Bosch does it well, clean and fun – no compromise, no mess, and not a single boring moment on the album.

If you’re into garage rock, you’ll appreciate the rough production, which exudes a certain sense of intimacy on an album that otherwise could have been a step closer to the bevy of other so-claimed ‘garage bands’ out there with “The” names.
Get the album and enjoy this awesome indie band before they are found (and most likely ruined) by the corporate rock powers.

T:
So this is an ‘ep’ then is it? Not an album in any shape or
form? I only ask because it appears to have NINE whole tracks on it!
Pretty damn good stuff though. Think Violent Femmes with a sprinkling
of Ramones
topping and maybe even add a dash of Devo sauce with Radio Birdman pudding.
Maybe you’d like some Iggy and The Stooges biscuits to round things
off? This is marvellous – someone sign these guys now!

N: How about a dose of B-52s? And I guess, from the pace and feel of
this ‘album’, The Bosch obviously spend days in the studio
daydreaming of the summer, catching the surf, and watching one another’s
beehive coiffures gradually resembling an Afro as the damp summer air
takes hold. 9/10″

Imagine Brian Wilson, Dick Dale, and Joey Ramone stayed up all night taking speed pills and Ritalin. The resulting album would bear a striking resemblance to The Bosch’s latest album, Buy One Get One. The Bosch play an upbeat style of rock that combines the colorful production values of Beach Boys with surf rock energy and punk rock grit. Fast and focused, the album drives ahead at full speed, ripping through nine songs in just twenty-five minutes. The band plays so fast that tracks like ‘The Movie Director’ and ‘Napoleon Invades Russia’ are over almost before they start. The Bosch slow down long enough to enjoy the scenery on ‘Teenage Symphony’, the best and best produced song on Buy One Get One. Starting off with rolling drums, a Phil Spector wall of sound is built brick by brick, adding synthesizers, saxophones, and even sleigh bells to thicken up the sound until the song becomes a full-blown symphony. Just when it seems you’ve got The Bosch figured out, they fire off a song that defies expectation, making their album that much more rewarding in the process.

(( EDITOR’S PICK )))
The Bosch
Buy One Get One
It’s nice to hear a garage band doing something different. The Bosch have a full, shuffling sound with a keyboard player who also plays sax and clarinet. The horns give them a 50s rock influence, especially on a couple of hand-clapping numbers and the ballady “Teenage Symphony.” Along with rockabilly drumming, skanky upbeat horn lines, and good Lou Reed-ish rock vox, they’re raucous in a Who meets the White Light/White Heat era Velvets way, but executed with good, clean fun.

The Bosch “Buy One Get One”
Self-Produced
Did I hear a Rolling Stone’s influence? I heard a lot of influences on this disc from Brooklyn’s The Bosch. It’s sixties psychedelic rock infused with elements of ska and punk. It’s freaking great! Completely engulfing you with a delivery of spastic, high-energy guitars and vocals, The Bosch don’t bring to mind New York… more like the British evasion that brought the world The Kinks. The saxophone leads the rhythm of almost all tracks but often pushed aside by surf riffs and a haunting organ.
R.I.Y.L.: The Buzzcocks, The Kinks, The Who