The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still

A band that’s independent in every sense of the word is quite hard to find these days, so it’s heartening to see that The Boxer Rebellion have remained true to their ideals for ‘The Cold Still’. The only reason they even brought in someone else to produce the record for them was that they needed a second opinion. In other words, ‘unless it was strictly necessary we did this ourselves’. They didn’t bring just anyone on board, however: the man who produced their third album has some serious credentials. Ethan Johns has worked with plenty of big names in the past, Laura Marling, Kings Of Leon and (ahem) Paolo Nutini among them.

In that respect it might make one wonder just why he was drawn to the Boxers. Something happened last time the band released an album, though: ‘Union’ was a phenomenal success, infamously denied a top 5 entry in the UK charts due to archaic chart rules, as well as storming the US iTunes charts, which was something unheard of for an unsigned act. At the time of writing, ‘The Cold Still’ has equalled the feat. Considering the band were dropped by their label in the week their debut album (‘Exits’) came out, the events of the last two years have been genuinely extraordinary, and the intense sense of vindication they must have felt in the wake of that success in 2009 has inspired them no end.

‘The Cold Still’ sounds like a band finally finding their feet after years in the wilderness. The debut flopped, and ‘Union’ was recorded with tremendous uncertainty hanging over their heads, but the reason their third album works so well is that it’s instilled with a sense of direction and purpose they were never truly able to say they had before. It is the logical next step from ‘Union’, there is no question about that. Fans longing for ‘Exits’-like material will be left disappointed because The Boxer Rebellion are not that band anymore.

Instead, what we get is a record that is huge, euphoric and uplifting with an excellent flow. Whereas before songs like ‘Watermelon’ never fully gelled with others like ‘The Absentee’ on the same LP, ‘The Cold Still’ works from start to finish, not one song seeming out of place. From the opening drums of ‘No Harm’, there is a distinct air of this being the first true Boxer Rebellion ‘album’. As for the songs themselves, they will leave bands like Coldplay and Snow Patrol trembling in their boots. These songs are cut from the same cloth, only much, much better. The majority of this record is a gentle, atmospheric affair, but there is plenty of variation to keep it from going stale. Exhibit A: the run of ‘Caught By The Light’ through ‘Cause For Alarm’ into ‘Organ Song’.

Listening to the album is an emotional experience at times, too. Before the title of the closer is even mentioned, there is plenty of ‘Doubt’ and introspection on offer. Frontman Nathan Nicholson sounds like a man ready to admit defeat on ‘Locked In The Basement’ (‘It is harder when you say it / Life is never yours to make it / It is always one thing you can’t win’); at other times he sounds completely helpless (‘Nothing you can do for them, only with your own life’; ‘As quick as the hope I was living on, it’s gone’. It’s been said that once the lyrics are understood, everything about ‘The Cold Still’ - title, artwork, the lot - falls into place. It is a marriage of uplifting music and troubled thoughts, and these two make a perfect couple. The result, in this reviewer’s opinion, is their best work yet.