boyband

Genre-bending rapper/singer/producer and musician boyband uses a limitless approach to his songs, bringing together elements of rap production, emo and alternative songwriting, melodic pop hooks, and a heavy stylistic influence from anime. All of the styles and sounds congealed on releases like his 2021 sophomore album, never knows best.
Boyband signed on with the Dirty Hit label for the release of his debut single in 2020. The song, “Death Note,” was a rock/trap hybrid that included contributions from Good Charlotte guitarist Billy Martin. Various other singles arrived over the course of the year, and were compiled as the long-playing collection alone in boyband. American Football’s Mike Kinsella played on the track “big face,” a pained tune made up of gentle acoustic guitars and atmospheric samples floating around a trappy instrumental. The next year, second album never knows best was released, featuring the standout single “fooly cooly.” The song was directly inspired by characters in Kazuya Tsurumaki’s anime series FLCL. ~ Fred Thomas