Album Review Boniface - Boniface

On their debut self-titled album, Canadian solo artist Boniface battles with hometown associations, offering an intimate coming of age story told through upbeat synth-pop and stripped back piano ballads. Bookended by both odes to and critiques of suburban living, the majority of ‘Boniface’ explores the everyday realities of growing up against the social grain.

Underpinned by a poignant sincerity, Boniface – otherwise known as Micah Visser – wrote and recorded much of the record in their family home. Travelling to London to work with Charli XCX producer Neil Comber and signing to Transgressive Records, home of house-pop pioneer SOPHIE, Boniface blends the introspective with highly polished production. Much like their labelmate, Boniface effortlessly glides between the euphoric and the wounded, often presenting both simultaneously. The disco-ready ‘Ghosts’ is brilliantly self-affirming yet representative of the feeling of social isolation, whilst the climatic ‘Wake Me Back Up’ - destined for huge festival stages – sees Micah frustrated and downtrodden.

Yet ‘Boniface’ at its core is remarkably positive. Written throughout their teenage years, they deliver an unfiltered journey of self-discovery. And in the end, they conclude that to truly accept themselves they need to make peace with all that has come before and all that has led them here.