As debut albums go, this is one to grab you by the balls and have you captivated. Delve deeper into Franco-Anglo duo Bosco Rogers though, and you’ll hope they don’t release their metaphorical grip – however eye-watering the current situation.
Born over spilled drinks and games of pool in north London boozer The Good Mixer, you’d be forgiven for dreading another glimpse of the mid-90s and the style over substance brigade that latched onto the coat-tails of a rampant Oasis and Blur at their peak. Just don’t chalk your cue up with the fallen septum of a debauched member of Menswear and all will be golden, for mid-90s horrors aren’t in situ; this is scuzzy surf-pop of the 1960s all the way (if you can remember it you just weren’t there, man), and boy is this worth remembering.
Barthelemy ‘Barth’ Corbelet and Delphinius ‘Del’ Vargas divide their time between studios and living quarters in Hastings (UK) and Rouen (France) – whatever the historical context of these geographical locations, it’s up to us not to cop one in the eye and listen with intent to what this glorious duo lay down before us; as much as the assumption may be that these towns could be a hot bed for alienation and Farage appointed posters behind the 24hrs garage, this album of songs is SO downright open-minded, louche and SO much bloody fun that these fears are beaten down and couldn’t be further from our thoughts come the end of a few tracks.
Escapism appears to be the reality for Bosco Rogers, and they put the stringent confines of backwater towns in the rear-view mirror and this, goddammit, is their soundtrack that knows no borders and provides an appealing contrast to their fun-loving ethos and worldly vision. They brought Claudius Mittendorfer – of Weezer, Temples and hot Black Country band Yak fame – into the fold to provide mixing duties in New York and if that’s not enough to get you hooked you better sign off now.
Whether you’re totally sold, or still deliberating, this intriguing duo have plenty more in the locker. Album title ‘Post Exotic’ is a term coined by French author Antoine Volodine to describe a literary movement of work that explores post-apocalyptic Philip K. Dick-esque words that are anything but exotic. Barth goes on to say his “fiction is very dream-like and explores strange realities, but there’s a B-movie aspect to it too, where there’s always some kind of sexual misadventure. It’s fresh and it’s tongue-in-cheek. It’s post exotic”. Kaiser Chiefs this ain’t.
As for Bosco Rogers themselves, this duo come across as a mixture of Paris chic, Kate Moss’ teenage cheekbones in the Whitgift Centre pre-fame and an All Saints advertisers wet dream (as of going to press nobody could confirm that Philip Green had eluded the MPs grilling and tried to recruit the boys for a BHS comeback tour).
While at times a joyous, throwaway surf pop vibe of the early Miles Kane variety can be heard, a more in-depth listen hits right between the eyes with a scathing attack on western society; “the world is burning and people couldn’t care less as long as the party doesn’t stop,” slams ‘True Romance’. A real world-is-one vibe that the music so often alludes to: Haight-Ashbury circa ’67 if you will, contrasted vividly with the selfish mess of the modern world and the blinkered outlook of many.
The music can be grounded in years gone by, but the lyrics can be very much cast in the present. The gritty realism may have some doubters, but this is hardly a political manifesto and Bosco Rogers can still have us with an archetypal pop ditty of love forlorn on ‘Drinking For Two’, “I’m such a fool, you got me drinking for two” they coo amongst harmonies and scuzzy beats that hide the tale of a partner lost.
With tunes like these we are willing to join whichever lonely soul in the band requires a drinking partner. Talent by osmosis is never a bad thing.
Whether Bosco Rogers’ next output comes to us from Hastings via Rouen, or Rouen via Hastings, the wait will certainly prove worthwhile.