Boneless Children Foundation

Stars for Anyone

Record Review by Amber Henson

Something tells me that the despite their name, the band “The Boneless Children Foundation” has never given money to boneless children. Which is a tragedy, seeing has how the universe of Harry Potter is assumedly full of them. Actually, this band was recently included in The Onion's list of the Worst Band Names of 2007, a fact the group is so proud of, they posted it on their MySpace page. Hey, any press is good press, right?

This band spends its debut album Stars For Anyone switching back and forth between a lot of sounds from the '90s. There’s some shoegazer, punk, post-punk, and a serious love of guitar pedals. There is also a lot of sound happening that can only be labeled as ‘experimental’ but it can’t really be experimental, can it, if someone else has already done it?

But Logan Barrier (drums), Jonathan Kepke (bass), and David Siegal (guitar and vocals) are quite talented on their respective instruments. Even the atonal songs (something I’m almost never fond of) are put together properly, and hold strong through the resonance.

Siegal’s voice works well on songs like the one their album is named for, when he sings in a little bit of a falsetto, and the whole thing comes off as kind of a lark. Other times, though, like on “King”, their longest song that starts off “King of the Laundromat, fighting fires in the dryers”, his voice isn’t quite strong enough to make it; he’s a bit off key. Simon Cowell would be displeased at his efforts here.

But who listens to Simon Cowell? This is rock and roll, and The Boneless Children Foundation are well aware. They follow “King” with “Eyes Have Had Enough”, which is slow to start. Once it does, though, a fun beat starts up, and there’s a bit of Man Man in it. Overall, the album as a whole is not as strong as it could be, but you definitely get the sense that this is a band that can amaze on stage.