Sports Team – Boys These Days Review

A trip to Halifax is what brings Sports Team back into the brain. They drifted the more their album, Boys These Days, was delayed. But an opening spot for Supergrass, where they outshone the I Should Coco hitmakers, highlights their spot in alternative rock. Their third album in five years brings in that aesthetic nostalgia of the mid-2000s. Their WordArt logo on screen as the band perform at The Piece Hall is a nice touch for those who find their childhood memories massage the horrors of the modern world. Courting did it, Sports Team do it, and Geordie Greep has fallen into that despite not wanting to. It’s an urgent shift in momentum for the revival scene. Those influenced by the greats of the past are now hoping to leave a similarly shaped imprint, but are being misread by their audiences. An audience is still an audience, though, and Boys These Days has a big one.  

Where the jazzy opener, I’m In Love (Subaru), may begin sounding like an advert for the titular car, the song explores a deeper instrumental thrill. That advert-like sound is part of the charm Sports Team has in their music. Exploring the novelties of English living, the little bits taken for granted and easy to mock. Wetherspoons table apps, Japanese transportation, and compromise are what swirl through their songs. Their title track notes the generational difference, not of how we work and live, but in what we use to distract ourselves. From marijuana and war to vapes and porn, with some upbeat string inclusions. It’s that tongue-in-cheek tone blurred with a real message of worry that works so well. Sports Team kicks against those who believe the pre-tech days of playing in the street are better than what we have now. Highlighting that hypocrisy is all too easy, but few are making it sound as good as Sports Team.  

Sports Team are at least aware of the privilege spotting their background and shift from political commentary. Cultural criticism is a degree away, and anyone can observe the placidity and rot across the country. Sports Team details that, best of all, with Alex Rice as the perfect lead. His versatility and tone are effective enough to forget that a Cambridge-based band is nailing that uncomfortable gap between the war generation and the now. Boys These Days calls for unity in the community and yet suggests there is little to bring people together. Their sound has a quality heard in Geese’s recent releases. An inspired and upbeat instrumental section with darker tones found in the lyrics. Condensation is the best example of that, though Sports Team has a sound of their own beyond that. They develop it very well in the latter half of Boys These Days. Punchy pieces like Sensible mock those who are pursuing the “locked-in” life. Up early to do little for themselves under the guise of self-improvement.  

Rice is a marvel in these moments. Passionate and thrilled by the ongoing fight against cultural decline. Subcultures of life, from the fitness grifter to the boomer view of the world, are brilliant ammunition for Sports Team. They’re a mesmerising band, with slick instrumental style and exceptional lyrics. The latter is what Boys These Days focuses on. Their discomfort with modern-day workings is the beating heart of this album, though the instrumental skill and structure are what turn it into more than trying to dismantle the cogs of life. Planned Obsolescence warns of an indifferent future, while Bang Bang Bang takes real glee in its western-tinged desire to plan your way out of that time ahead. But time is not on your side, and Boys These Days has both a call to arms and a warning against the false prophets capitalising on those wanting a newfound focus. It’s brilliant work the whole way through from a band whose grip on the world around them is only getting stronger.