Music Banter - View Single Post - YorkeDaddy Revisists Albums He Used to Hate

YorkeDaddy · 06-06-2013, 03:08 PM

Boxcar - Vertigo

What I Used to Think:

"Whoo! Hell yeah! New Wave! Synthpop! New Order!!!"
-16 year old me.

There was a brief period where New Order was a slight obsession for me. I dug all of it; their earlier post-punk oriented stuff and their 90's-era electronica-esque jams. They were a gateway for me towards all sorts of awesome acts, most notably and obviously Joy Division (one of my favorite bands of all-time) and Talking Heads (also one of my favorite bands of all-time). There were some bands, however, that I was led to that I disliked. Enter Boxcar.

Boxcar was an Australian-based synthpop band that more or less copied everything good about New Order. I don't think you can go to a single discussion regarding Boxcar among any medium without finding gripes about how they're so similar to New Order. Regardless, I still flocked to anything New Wave-y, so I hunted down Boxcar's albums, notably their debut, Vertigo, excited for some new jams among the genre that I loved so much at the time.

Except it sucked. If you're going to copy one of the greatest bands ever, at least do it well. I thought this was some of the worst synthpop ever made. It's almost as if they were consciously trying to be "New Order for the Australians," except they just weren't as good at songwriting or production or any of that, and their vocalist paled painfully in comparison.

What I Think Now:

As someone that can still listen to New Order for days on end, I have to say...Vertigo by Boxcar still sucks. It's not just that this record is basically an attempt at an exact replica of 90's New Order, it's just that New Order was in a completely different dimension in terms of mastery of the genre, while Boxcar's songs are so primitive in comparison that I can't help but hate this record. There's not necessarily anything wrong with two artists sounding similar, but when one is eons better than the other and it's painfully clear that the lesser one is just trying to imitate the other, it's just hard not to hate the lesser album.

Was I Wrong?

Christ, no. Boxcar is a band I will continue to avoid, and whenever I need some New Wave I'll have New Order/Talking Heads/Depeche Mode to comfort me.

06-06-2013, 03:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
YorkeDaddy silky smooth Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Pangaea Posts: 4,079	Boxcar - Vertigo What I Used to Think: "Whoo! Hell yeah! New Wave! Synthpop! New Order!!!" -16 year old me. There was a brief period where New Order was a slight obsession for me. I dug all of it; their earlier post-punk oriented stuff and their 90's-era electronica-esque jams. They were a gateway for me towards all sorts of awesome acts, most notably and obviously Joy Division (one of my favorite bands of all-time) and Talking Heads (also one of my favorite bands of all-time). There were some bands, however, that I was led to that I disliked. Enter Boxcar. Boxcar was an Australian-based synthpop band that more or less copied everything good about New Order. I don't think you can go to a single discussion regarding Boxcar among any medium without finding gripes about how they're so similar to New Order. Regardless, I still flocked to anything New Wave-y, so I hunted down Boxcar's albums, notably their debut, Vertigo, excited for some new jams among the genre that I loved so much at the time. Except it sucked. If you're going to copy one of the greatest bands ever, at least do it well. I thought this was some of the worst synthpop ever made. It's almost as if they were consciously trying to be "New Order for the Australians," except they just weren't as good at songwriting or production or any of that, and their vocalist paled painfully in comparison. What I Think Now: As someone that can still listen to New Order for days on end, I have to say...Vertigo by Boxcar still sucks. It's not just that this record is basically an attempt at an exact replica of 90's New Order, it's just that New Order was in a completely different dimension in terms of mastery of the genre, while Boxcar's songs are so primitive in comparison that I can't help but hate this record. There's not necessarily anything wrong with two artists sounding similar, but when one is eons better than the other and it's painfully clear that the lesser one is just trying to imitate the other, it's just hard not to hate the lesser album. Was I Wrong? Christ, no. Boxcar is a band I will continue to avoid, and whenever I need some New Wave I'll have New Order/Talking Heads/Depeche Mode to comfort me.