Indie pop is good stuff to have around, but it’s a hard genre to get noticed by playing. Take San Diego’s Boyish Charms, for example. They’ve been kicking around in some form or another for around a decade now according to their website, and while they’re quite the competent popsters, it’s pretty safe to assume that they haven’t exactly lit the world on fire yet. A few spins of their newest record Nothing Spectacular Awaits and you’ll agree that maybe turning the world on its ever-loving ear shouldn’t exactly be the point. What if it’s just good enough to make pop records that you yourself really like in ways/formats that make the most sense to you? If you stick to an aesthetic, you’ll always be successful on your own terms. It’s also safe to assume that the fanbase you do garner will undoubtedly ‘get it’ and stick around. In this sense, Boyish Charms is one of the most successful indie bands around. Heck, even now that their albums are being distributed by the Asaurus CD-R label, each copy is individually handmade.

Of course, none of these things matter if the records aren’t good, right? No worries there as the Boyish Charms new sparklingly mid-fi album is a solid and consistent set of poppy goodness. Drums and percussion stay tastefully sparse, the bass meanders into every available melodic line that the two-guitar twinkle suggests, and the vocals never impose on the steadily midtempo mood apparent throughout Nothing Spectacular Awaits. The latter does sometime downplay the lyrical content to a fault, making the listener almost miss great lines like “There’s a dead baby turtle / That resides in the sea / And I know because I put ‘em there”, but it also gives the recieving audience more reason to give the album their full attention.

Fans of early Pinback, The Sea and Cake and Grandaddy will want to check these guys out ASAP. The Boyish Charms make the pop for themselves, but thankfully… they’re willing to share!

Boyish Charms - Dear Katy.mp3
Boyish Charms - How’s Your Heart Helping Now?.mp3

Buy a handmade copy of Nothing Spectaular Awaits from Asaurus… for only five bucks!
Check out the handy Boyish Charms website!
Be friends with the Boyish Charms on MySpace! Awright Cleveland!