Interview with Phil Sambol of The Strange Boys
March 22
9:30 Club with Deerhunter and Spoon
There aren’t many activities in life for which you will be rewarded for not trying. Flying a plane is definitely a no, as are performing surgery and professional basketball. Music, however, is one thing where seemingly the less you care the better off you are. From diva-like storm outs to forgetting their own lyrics to passing out onstage, professional musicians have developed a sense of one-upmanship to see who can be the most indifferent. This unspoken competition certainly grates on concert goers and critics alike. However, every once in a while you find a band with the right proportion of nonchalance and talent and you remember how we all got into this crazy mess to begin with. I found this winning combination in the Strange Boys whose performance at the 9:30 club on March 22 was in a word, effortless. If you haven’t heard the Strange Boys I implore you to go out and buy their recently released album “Be Brave” and revel in their distinctively self-possessed sound. They’ve been described as “Beach Boys on mescaline” but I’m going to avoid sixties references as they’ve got a time machine sized chip on their collective shoulder (see below). In terms of contemporaries, they’re in great company with Black Lips, Harlem, and Thee Oh Sees. They’ve masterfully combined R&B, Garage Rock, Folk, and Punk and engulfed them all in a swaggering twang. Lead Singer Ryan Sambol’s voice has been described as everything from a strained squawk to a young Bob Dylan (though the two are usually synonymous) but again we’re edging pretty close to 60’s territory, but really no one wants to be compared to today’s creepy and depressing Christmas album Dylan. I don’t often implore you readers to do much of anything, so please, if you haven’t already been sold by the the infectiously uninhibited lo-fi bluesy jangle of Strange Boys take my advice and do yourself the favor of getting on this band wagon.
I had the chance to speak with bassist Phil Sambol after the show:
