Who? Add another name to the list of Internet success stories: Boys Like Girls’ booking agent and producer found the quartet via MySpace.com and PureVolume.com, where they topped the New Artists chart. The Boston-area band — Martin Johnson (vocals), John Keefe (drums), Bryan Donahue (bass), Paul DiGiovanni (lead guitar) — are preparing to release their hook-laden self-titled debut.
What’s the Deal? Boys Like Girls’ sugary anthems could sweeten any summer fling you hope would last just a smidge longer. Over slickly catchy guitar licks and rolling rhythms, Johnson sings, “Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer / Do you know you’re unlike any other? / You’ll always be my thunder” with the urgency associated with first romantic infatuations. It’d be easy to think these guys are endearing neophytes when it comes to the ladies, as “Hero / Heroine” finds Johnson meditating on love with his head in the clouds, and in “Five Minutes to Midnight,” which teems with oh oh ohs, the cute innocence of it all is solidified: “I’ve got a sickness / You’ve got a cure / You’ve got the spunk I’ve been looking for.”
Fun Fact: Martin, Bryan, and John had all played together in various bands around Boston. John met Paul while working on a demo for a mutual friend, and Paul soon joined the other three to form Boys Like Girls. Several months after playing together, they discovered that John and Paul are actually distant cousins. JULIA SIMON
Now Hear This: Boys Like Girls – “Hero / Heroine” WINDOWS MEDIA HIGH | LOW Boys Like Girls – “Hero / Heroine” REAL HIGH | LOW
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On the Web: boyslikegirls.com
