Boys Noize - Out Of The Black

Brrrrring brrrrring. “Hello… Alex, it’s for you, it’s 2006 and it wants its sound back.” Sadly, that is the imaginary phonecall not far from a listen to Boys Noize aka Alex Ridha’s third album ‘Out Of The Black’. Back in the mid-noughties when electro was really kicking off and clubs were pelting out Boys Noize’s ‘& Down’ to EDM virgins, the use of heavy metal distortion and all its close associates in dance music was new and exciting. It was energetic and aggressive. It was a gateway to realms and realms of beautiful electro, tech-house and techno. But it could only last so long if it did not learn to evolve.

Boys Noize’s debut album ‘Oi Oi Oi’ was seminal for electro fans, likewise his timeless early remixes. Mr Ridha was very much man of the moment for a good three years. The scene has since moved on and those zeitgeist brash, brazen beats today sound tired and stale. The likes of Justice, fellow electro Gods, have seen their their following depleted amid laments they did not push their sound forward. ‘Out Of The Black’ represents that failure.

Nobody doubts Boys Noize’s incredible technical ability and faultless production but the musical direction is wrong. The grating distortion and overuse of his favoured vocoder make this album difficult listening. Single ‘XTC’ hints at his underlying, resilient brilliance but that’s only if you get passed the impenetrable opener, ‘What You Want’. Pass a few more repetitive head bangers and you might find solace and ingenuity in the track he shares with Siruismo, ‘Concord’, or head to the end for the product of his time spent with Snoop Dogg (Snoop Lion?) for an infectious collaboration. Other than that, ‘Out Of The Black’ serves only to remind us how quickly EDM genres grow old, and not with grace.