The American darkwave duo Boy Harsher has released their fourth album, Get Mean — the first under the major label Atlantic Records. Italy's OndaRock, in its review, recalls the weight of their earlier work: the 2015 single "Pain" and the debut Yr Body Is Nothing, released a year later, represented a new starting point for the genre and inspired numerous projects. OndaRock ↗
Credit for that went to a more synthetic and electronic approach, often danceable, situated between dark technoid pulses and the legacy of minimal synth. Get Mean follows the recording The Runner, which was released as the soundtrack to the short film of the same name, which the duo directed themselves. OndaRock ↗
But their situation outside of music has also changed — they are no longer a couple in their personal lives, and it is no coincidence that the album emerges as a meditation on love, loss and survival. Reviewer Paolo Chemnitz is critical of the result: he speaks of a "relentless commercial turn" that was, in a sense, to be expected, and cites the single "Jeans" as a warning sign — in his view an intangible track in the vein of "truly bland and forgettable synth-pop". He assesses other tracks similarly, including "Break Me" and "Faulty". Overall rating: 5.5. OndaRock ↗
On SuperMusic you can find the lyrics to three of their songs, including the aforementioned "Pain".
The duo Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller has been active since 2014 and has built an audience spanning the darkwave, techno and indie scenes. Get Mean is their first album since splitting up as a couple — and according to the review, that is precisely the theme that holds the record together even where it is criticized musically.
Illustrative photo: Boy Harsher in 2014. Photo: GRIT PHOTOZINE / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Boy Harsher move to a major label on the album Get Mean. OndaRock talks about a commercial turn
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