by Mark Anderson
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Although BOYCOTT!’s Pansy dropped in September of 2019 and YabYum featured them in both our Hot HipHop of 2019 playlist and our 20 Rising Artists to Watch in 2020, we never actually covered their debut album. Allow me to remedy that mistake now. No doubt about it, the funky-fresh sounds of Tempe’s BOYCOTT! will have you shaking your booty and banging your head to the beat. Unapologetically queer-friendly both lyrically and as a band, Pansy took BOYCOTT! “two years of blood, sweat, glitter, and tears to come to fruition.” Opening number “Revolt.” should give you an idea pretty quick as to what this band’s about: “I just wanna act up/ smoke my greens mixed with tobacco/ And I’m a rebel and I’m an asshole/ They say we ain’t worth the hassle.” And that’s just the chorus, the versus are much rowdier than that…
The newest single, “Pansy”, follows next. This is the song that first introduced me to the BOYCOTT! sound and still remains a top track for me. Part hiphop, part alt-rock, part punk rock, and all groove, both “Pansy” the song and Pansy the album defy genre convention; a complete breath of fresh, smoke-filled air. The slow jam “Sweet Lover Boy” arrives next and totally flips what you might have started thinking the BOYCOTT! sound is on it’s head. While the groove is still there, this is more relaxed and contemplative, the nature sounds in the background complimenting the track quite well.
Additional album highlights for me are the full on rocker “A Cherry Named Billy Hatchet”, the extra funky “Stale”, and album closer and heavy bass number “Bicycle”. While Kaleb (Vocals/Lyrics), Christian (Guitar, Harmonica on “Pansy”), Andrew Petersen (Bass, Backing Vocals on “Sweet Lover Boy”), and Jeff Tenney (Drums/Percussion) may have made the music on Pansy, currently drummer Sage is rocking behind the kit for BOYCOTT! and kicking major ass while doing so. Check out Pansy, and then catch the band soon…
Peep BOYCOTT! when they open for Animatronic along with Dadadoh & The P.O.C and Mission Once Forever at the Crescent Ballroom on 2/19. More info and tickets through Eventbrite.
