Bozmo – Hosanna in the Highest

Our friends BOZMO from Boston unleash their debut album “Hosanna in the Highest”, released in cassette format just in time for the summer months.

If you remember back to April, we gave you an introductory taste to Bozmo with their digital single “Golden Feeling” and now they’ve taken that to a whole new level. Their new album “Hosanna in the Highest” puts a little bit of everything on their plate, from folksy twangs (“Long Live the Boys”) to leftist noise (“JuiceMetalFuture”) to gentle acoustics (“Maybe I’ll See You”) with plenty of honky garage pop scattered in-between to balance things out. There’s even a few jams (like “The Lonely Ghost”, “Kill the Beast” and “Birth of the You-Know-Who”) which tell intriguing stories, whether it’s a fairy-tale like slaying or a depressing story about a ghost who can’t touch anybody because he goes right through them. Undoubtedly those lyrics can be a bit distracting as they paint scenarios in your mind.

Things begin with the energetic and equally trashy intro “Milksnakes”, a song we’ve had the pleasure of sharing with you before. This should quickly grab your attention and keep you looking forward of what’s to come, whether it’s the chicken-scratch guitar of “Witchy Wu” or the folksy twang of “Long Live the Boys”, which channels their stunning level of energy quite exceptionally with dagger-like licks and a shuffling rhythm. While some songs like that manage to hit that high mark, other songs like “Maybe I’ll See You” leave you feeling a bit short. This one is an honest and calming track driven by strummy guitars and yearning lyrics, yet by the end if feels somewhat drawn-out without much of a punch.

Focusing on “Birth of the You-Know-Who”, we’d have to agree with you there Bozmo – that is quite cruel. Anybody who has ever been in that state of mind would totally agree, myself included. But this just goes to show that psychedelic drugs somehow play a part in their mangled and spastic sound, whether it’s the band themselves or them making a living-hell for their friends – see “JuiceMetalFuture” for added confirmation on this. Another highlight and perhaps the most unexpected is the final track “Little Bit”, an utterly delightful closer that hints at something special for the future of Bozmo. The guitars shimmer like crystals in the light – like a blinding glare you can’t help but fix your eyes on. Fluttering underneath those guitars are ambient textures which gives the track plenty of depth, making for an ambiguous ending where you might not be entirely sure how to feel.

So as long as they retain their focus and their bizarre energy manifests properly, there should be even better things to come for these guys. Listen to a heaping chunk of the album below and take a look at their Bandcamp page if you’d like to hear the rest of the album.

Milksnakes –

Long Live the Boys –

Birth of the You-Know-Who –

Little Bit –

My Rating: 7.1/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Garage Rock, Alternative
Hosanna in the Highest: Tracklist:
1.) Milksnakes
2.) The Lonely Ghost
3.) Witchy Wu
4.) Golden Feeling
5.) Maybe I’ll See You
6.) Kill the Beast
7.) Long Live the Boys
8.) Birth of the You-Know-Who
9.) JuiceMetalFuture
10.) Little Bit

Bozmo on Bandcamp – download the album !
Bozmo on Facebook

Past Related Posts:
Golden Feeling (digital single)