Music and comedy are my two great passions. Due to this, people often conflate the two and suggest comedy bands that I might like. Now, this might just be a ‘me thing’… but when someone says: “I know a band that’ll make you laugh” my instant, secret reaction, is to think: “No… No you don’t. My humour is incredibly sophisticated. It operates on a level that you could not conceive. It’s highly unlikely that anything you might impart could bring anything more to my lips than a polite yet pitying smile. Simply by implying that we might be on the same level when it comes to the subject of jest may be enough within itself to sunder this relationship forever.”
Kicking off any review with a vaguely sociopathic admission probably isn’t great. Especially when someone then farts and you laugh anyway. But all the same, it’s a pretty accurate description of how the Devon-based acoustic-comedy duo Los No Boss made their way into my orbit. However, little did I suspect that the impact they’d make would be similar to that time a dinosaur looked into the night sky and said to a mate “Hey Bert, there’s something you don’t see every day.”
Consisting of Matt Hall and Si Wilkes, who originally met way back in 1999, Los No Boss are already heralded in the South West scene for staging highly humorous gigs full of songs about their native county and the people who live there. So it goes without saying that they’re brilliant live. But with the immediacy of the audience removed, there’s always a question of whether the same songs will hold up on record.
On new album King of Devon, that question is answered with a resounding “Yeah of course you pillock.” Coming across like the missing link between Flight of the Conchords and Goldie Lookin Chain, this is a cracking nine-song collection where the titters tumble with such speed that repeat listening is a must.
Take the acoustic power chord opener ‘The Guy I Never Knew’ (“This one goes to a guy I never knew, it’s called ‘The Guy I Never Knew’”), soul stomp of ‘Office Love’ (“When the heating turns on you’ll be turned on for the rest of your life”), the rhythm & blues rumble of ‘DIY’ (“This is the story of a lifetime of pain”) or the title track ‘King of Devon’ which is a monster-sized semi-Wurzels celebration of everything the county offers in comparison to the bright lights of the USA.
These might be songs that focus on the mundanities of life, but they’re no less exhilarating for it, and that’s because where the record really holds its own is in its musicality. Recorded with producer James Harvey, who manned both the control decks and extra instrumentation, sonically the songs rise far above their acoustic origins. That’s not to say there isn’t room for stripping things back though, ‘Online’ is an absolutely beautiful ballad with nods to Cat Stevens and Paul McCartney (even if the lyrics ABSOLUTELY aren’t), while the gorgeous textures of ‘Have You Ever Wondered?’ is reminiscent of Crosby, Stills & Nash at their best… if Crosby, Stills & Nash ever sang about what it would be like to achieve the success of Crosby, Stills & Nash.
So prepare yourself to let Los No Boss into your ears. You come for the gags but you’ll stay for the sounds.
King of Devon is out now from all of the usual places
Los No Boss: Website / Facebook / Instagram
Review by Peter Richard Adams
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