Bootblacks has been offering up dark and brooding post punk for the better part of fifteen years, and each of their albums has emphasized a different aspect of the genre while pulling in additional influences. Sometimes this brought in more new wave and electronic elements, while others emphasized the guitar and different delays and effects that recaptured the same spirit as a lot of the 80s classics. For their fifth full length Paradise, Bootblacks has leaned much heavier into the electronic side and embraced brighter synthpop alongside darker and grimier electronics that tap into some more modern elements. Filled with hooks from beginning to end, Paradise feels like a natural evolution of what the band has offered throughout their discography and is likely to appeal to a wide range of musical tastes.
2020’s Thin Skies had some keyboard focused tracks, but quite a bit of the material was more guitar centric and emphasized the guitar and drums with the keyboards providing additional flourishes in the background. The shift over to synthpop and a more electronic forward sound on Paradise is immediately evident upon pressing play, as “Forbidden Flames” greets you with big, booming synths and a driving rhythm that has a more danceable feel to it. There’s still a dark and moodier tone underneath the brightness of the keyboards, which makes Bootblacks’ latest endeavor feel like a fusion of the darker post punk and gothic rock of the 80s with the brighter pop side of the spectrum. This brighter, cheerier side is showcased perfectly with “Only You”, which is a track that builds up to a huge chorus and prominent saxophone that will have you either dancing or tapping your foot along the entire time. As you make your way further into Paradise the band covers a lot of ground, as sometimes they shift over to colder synth lines while songs like “Leipzig” come across like a fusion of Depeche Mode and 80s art rock. Closer “Melt” also ends things strong but on a very different note, as it goes for a slower, moodier soundscape that has a moody atmosphere like some of New Order’s more sprawled out arrangements. There isn’t a bad song out of the nine Paradise has to offer, and despite it being noticeably more upbeat the album feels like a natural expansion of everything Bootblacks has written to date.
Panther Almqvist’s vocals have also gone through a shift with the change to Bootblacks’ sound, as he still has a booming pitch that hovers over the recording but it has a noticeably brighter cadence at certain points. Compared to some of the more brooding and somber tones on the band’s past releases, cuts like “Only You” are noticeably more synthpop leaning with huge choruses that find Almqvist’s voice soaring into the stratosphere. Where some of the vocal work in the past has been a bit more subdued, it feels like it’s an even bigger component on Paradise and songs like “Can You Feel It? (Anymore)” and “Fade Away” really shine because of it. There’s also a guest appearance from Oskar Carls of Viagra Boys on “Leipzig” that helps things lean even heavier into 80s European electronic territory, and little details like this make the material even better.
On their previous albums Bootblacks showed a mastery over the moodier and darker post punk that was a key part of the 80s while also adding their own touches that helped them stand out. Paradise takes this foundation and captures the other side of 80s music, bringing in significantly more keyboards and synthpop elements that create a more danceable, rhythmic focused album. The balance of huge pop hooks and more somber, subdued moments works incredibly well and have made Bootblacks’ latest one I’ve wanted to return to on a daily basis over the last few weeks. Paradise is available from Artoffact Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg