Photo Credit: Theodore Swaddling
Boston Manor are one of the best British prospects from the current era of rock music. Their brand of melodic, heavy, and sonically sound music has caught fans’ attention from across the globe. We spoke to lead singer Henry Cox at 2000trees to discuss their upcoming album Datura, their love of the festival, and what the rest of the year will bring.
How’s your summer been so far?
It’s been sick. We’ve been in Europe for five weeks so very happy to be back at Trees, playing some sick festivals and massive shows. Been playing with really cool bands such as Rise Against and Neck Deep, seeing people we haven’t seen in ages, we’re having a blast man. It’s very warm, like the heat is following us around the continent. It can be quite tough with the heat because you get to festivals at ten, and play at nine, and you’re just sat in the heat all day, so I’m ambient right now in this heat. I’m like a lizard!
Boston Manor bringing the heat. We remember seeing your band playing the Cave stage in 2018 and it being absolutely mental. The pits were absolutely massive, and every time you guys get asked to come back, you’re playing higher and higher. So what does 2000trees mean to Boston Manor?
Yeah I remember that set really well. We love it, it’s probably our favourite festival collectively because first of all, it’s just a load of moshers just like us. It’s people that kind of occupy our little corner of guitar music. There’s loads of great bands, like every year I’m kind of spoilt for choice for who I want to see. The area’s really nice like you never run into anyone who’s annoying, it’s not too big, and the shows are always amazing. I think it’s our fourth time playing it. We’ve come as punters despite it being a long way from Blackpool, but we just think it’s such a good festival, we really enjoy it. So we’ll play any year that 2000trees ask us, we really really like it here and I can’t wait for our set tonight.
You’re playing really high up the main stage this year – is headlining 2000trees something that’s on the checklist?
We’ll see man, buy our records guys and we’ll see what happens. I’d love to for sure, there’s a load of cool bands playing every year. Like you’ve got Thrice today with Turnstile playing just before, what a crazy, crazy day. Big shout out to 2000trees.
On the topic of records, you guys have just announced your new album Datura. You also recently released your new single Passenger – how has the reception been?
It’s been sick from what I’ve seen. This whole record is something we’ve been working on for like a year and a half, so there’s a lot of love, time, and passion that’s gone into it. So there’s a lot of nerves around this record, it’s like sending your kid to school for the first day. It’s been a minute since we started an album campaign. I’m really excited for people to hear this record, it’s fucking sick. I know you’re not supposed to say that, but it’s very condensed, it’s only seven songs, so it’s short but it’s us very comfortable. Like, it’s very us and we really enjoyed making it. I’m very proud of it, it’s very personal to me, and it’s the most personally I’ve ever written. The record is very bare bones to me, like I talk about a lot of difficulties I’ve had over the last few years. So yeah, I’m a little scared in a way to show people that, but I’m excited in a way. The songs are awesome so I hope people like it!
Musically, what kind of sound is Datura going to be? As it’s more of a personal record, does that mean it might be a bit heavier?
Oh it gets there. Put it this way, if you like our last two records, especially Welcome to the Neighbourhood, you’ll like this one. It lives in that shadowy world that Welcome to the Neighbourhood lives in. It’s a concept record that’s all set at night in Blackpool, or our weird kind of Blackpool we’ve created. We chose Blackpool because it’s our hometown, and it’s a place like no other. It’s very weird, it’s very cool. As musicians we’re very inspired by what we see, so visuals can often inspire us a lot. We kind of keep all that in mind when making the records, it doesn’t come as an afterthought. That often becomes a bit of a muse for the weird double sided coin of that town, the kind of tackiness from it, the lighting, the glitz and also the poverty. It’s really scummy but kind of wholesome at the same time. I just think it’s really interesting, like I don’t live there anymore, I live in Manchester, but I’m in Blackpool twice a week and whenever I’m there it really excites me. Whenever I come into the town, it’s always different, so I’ve tried to channel that into the music.
What is the music scene like in Blackpool?
It’s getting better. We’ve got some amazing bands from Blackpool, like we’ve got Strange Bones, Calva Louise… I grew up with Strange Bones, like all my mates went to school with Bobby Bentham, the lead singer. I grew up messing around, biking around, and getting drunk with those guys. There’s loads of bands, like there’s a new band called Blood Moon who are cool, there’s blanket. But in terms of like a scene, we haven’t had too many venues so it’s kind of hard to curate that. We’re looking to do what we can and play shows in Blackpool, so hopefully we’ll do one there this year.
What does the rest of 2022 look like for Boston Manor?
We’re putting the record out on 14th October and on that day we also start a UK and EU tour with Alexisonfire which is going to be sick, so we’re very excited for that.
Are Alexisonfire a big band for you guys as fans?
Oh yeah, of course, Crisis was a big record for me as a kid, and Young Cardinals was as well.
Have you met them yet?
No, I don’t know any of them yet, but I’m excited to. Higher Power are also on that tour, who we are really good mates with, so it’s going to be a tidy little package. The shows are already selling out, so it’s going to be a lot of fun – get on it, because these tickets are going to go. We’re also playing a festival in America in September as well as a festival in Newcastle, so it’s a fairly quiet end of the year for us, but we have been constantly on tour since November last year. I’m definitely excited for a breather!
Interview by: Joe Loughran
Boston Manor‘s new album Datura is due for release on 14th October 2022 via SharpTone Records.
See Boston Manor live with Alexisonfire and Higher Power at one of the following dates:
October 2022
Fri 14th – CARDIFF, UK – Great Hall
Sun 16th – MANCHESTER, UK – Academy
Mon 17th – GLASGOW, UK – Barrowland
Wed 19th – LEEDS, UK – O2 Academy
Thu 20th – BRIGHTON, UK – The Dome
Sat 22nd – LONDON, UK – O2 Academy Brixton
Mon 24th – ANTWERP, BE – Trix
Wed 26th – BERLIN, DE – Columbiahalle
Thu 27th – MUNICH, DE – TonHalle
Sat 29th – HAMBURG, DE – Zeltphilharmonie
Mon 31st – COLOGNE, DE – Palladium
November 2022
Tue 1st – UTRECHT, NL – Tivoli
