Searching For An Escape: Boston Manor Interviewed

“Lots of people have really strapped in and come along for the ride,” Boston Manor’s Henry Cox says, of the bands unwavering fanbase, just prior to the release of fourth full-length ‘Datura’. “And everybody has a favourite record, but they give each record its due diligence too. It’s always different. We don’t have that one record…” 

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For a band that started life ten years ago knocking out pop-punk’s finest in debut album ‘Be Nothing’, Boston Manor’s evolution into a sub-genre-spanning, masterfully world-building alt-rock act is something of dreams. Their three LPs so far each carved out a distinct niche with enough space to move around in, and enough cohesion to vividly define each era, to the point that “you can see what tour we picked them up on and they’ve stayed there the whole time!” The fact that Boston Manor have covered so much ground in alternative music is impressive on its own, but not necessarily out of the ordinary. Lots of bands go through genre developments – it’s a meaner feat that they’ve managed to intrigue, challenge, and astound their ever-growing fanbase so consistently. That’s what sets Boston Manor apart – an almost didactic approach to coaxing fans along. 

Last year’s ‘DESPERATE TIMES DESPERATE PLEASURES’, then, was a bit of a palate cleanser after 2020’s ‘GLUE’. At the time, ‘GLUE’ was Boston Manor’s most off-piste effort yet, and the follow-up slammed us back down to earth with some Boston-Manor-to-the-core mosh-pit excellence. Now, we have ‘Datura’, which sits somewhere between the two. Seven songs long, it’s separated from an EP not by runtime or length, but by that ‘album ethos’. 

“From Day One we knew we wanted to do a long album, or a double album, but in two parts,” Cox reveals,  “so we wrote it as such. It is very brief. But we wanted to make something people could listen to in one sitting, and 27 minutes is not too big of an ask. It’s when you’re making dinner, it’s a train ride… And it’s more digestible – like, I love ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’, but I’m not listening to that thing in one sitting… and to be honest, Side Two hasn’t been as well explored compared with Side One either cos it’s massive! It’s so long! And it sucks but you have to take into account people’s listening habits now. But we love albums, and we love the album format.”

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As it transpires, Part Two to ‘Datura’ hasn’t even been written yet – ‘Datura’ (Side A) takes us on a journey through the darkest of nights, through painful realisations and personal struggles, and “Side B is supposed to be about the triumphant resolution of this issue.”

“I was kind of calling my own bluff in making this the concept,” Cox says. “I was like, if I’m gonna do this, I need to be able to write about how I’ve overcome it on the Side B, so I’ve got to get my shit together. It’s like making myself a promise.” 

“I’m one of those people that can process my thoughts on things, often while I’m saying them out loud, which can lead you to say some pretty stupid things. But as long as you’re aware of that, it’s OK. It’s like putting everything out on paper and spreading paper all around the room and looking at it all and seeing it as one big picture. This is that.”

So did writing Side A help, on moving from the hardest part to the light at the end of the tunnel? “Definitely. I’m not there yet but I’m definitely on the road. Just kind of becoming comfortable talking about it, even doing these interviews and saying, I’m not very good at looking after myself, I do have an addictive personality, I have overindulged in many things throughout my life, particularly booze, and I need to not let that take hold of me. I’m too old to do that now.”

“I’m 29, and it’s very easy to be in a band and run away from your problems. We’re kind of pirates, we run from city to city causing chaos and leaving, and it’s very easy to not have to acknowledge stuff because everything’s moving so quickly, so I think if I don’t start taking care of myself now I’m just young enough that i can deal with it, but when i start becoming older, it gets dangerous really.”

Though ‘Datura’ is Boston Manor’s most personal record yet, it’s also their richest, most escapist work. This was a conscious decision, of course – nothing this good happens by accident. “You wanna offer that ambiguity that allows people to live through it,” Cox explains. “There’s no point me being like: shut up, sit down and listen to my problems – you want people to get something out of it. Just me moaning for 30 minutes isn’t good for anyone. I’m always aware of that, it’s in the front of my mind all the time. 

“I could write you a ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ about what is going on at the moment, but I don’t think my bandmates would appreciate it and I don’t think necessarily our fans would appreciate it either. There’s merit to providing a bit of escapism.”

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‘Datura’ is out now.

Words: Ims Taylor