SPECTRES

BOC's first decade (roughly speaking) produced an impressive body of work in their nine studio releases. In my mind I tend to group them into three trilogies. You have your first set, the classic "Black and White" albums. The second set are the "Fun" albums, Agents through Mirrors. Finally, there was the "Black and Blue/Teenager/Hockey Barn" albums of my youth and of which I got a taste of in-person. More on those later. Spectres was the follow-up to their smash Agents of Fortune and, while it seemed to flail in comparison, the truth is that all three of the "fun" albums have aged far better than many give them credit for. The albums are filled with a sense of pop/rock adventure, breaking free from the expectation, and trying to connect musically with more fans. I enjoy returning to this trilogy more than the other two, and many of the criticisms I read about them I would argue to be strengths. There are endless examples of "70s bands" who get trashed for their late-70s releases (when compared to their earlier work.) Amongst those dismissed late-70s releases are some decent albums, and Spectres would be one of them.

Spectres begins (and ends) so well that one may think we have another masterpiece here, but like Mirrors things are just a bit less than consistent. It begins with the live fan favorite "Godzilla" and one of their finest camp moments, "The Golden Age of Leather," which combines an unintended Sons of Anarchy vibe with some Beach Boys-esque homage. It's a nearly perfect track. The album closes with two more of BOC's finest moments. "I Love the Night," tinged in ghostly elegance, takes its place among the best of BOC's moonlight mood pieces such as "Then Came the Last Days of May," "Astronomy," "Morning Final," "The Vigil," "Don't Turn Your Back," and "Shooting Shark." "Nosferatu" closes the album with another melancholic beauty that flexes the strength of every band member and highlights their collective brilliance. The middle tracks are not quite to the level of those four bookends, but overall this is another solid chapter in the BOC story. Some complain that this "fun era" was not heavy enough, but BOC were never shooting for that trophy. If I want to be aurally bludgeoned, I've any number of heavier choices to select from. BOC, I feel, were shooting for something more intellectual, the thinking man/woman's melodic rock band?

Please don't write off Spectres and Mirrors (or, frankly, The Revolution by Night) because of the critical rock media narrative--all offer some true BOC gems and much fun! Easily a 7/10 album, but it's just a tad shy of hitting four stars I'm afraid.

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