Boxed In are set to perform at Gorilla in a return to Manchester following their triumphant sold-out show at The Deaf Institute in February.
The trio of Oli Bayston (vocals, keyboards), Liam Hutton (drums), Mark Nicholls (bass) were brought together by the hugely impressive songwriter Bayston in the aftermath of the end of Manchester band Keith, who were 2006’s joint winners of the Road to V competition with Bombay Bicycle Club.
Following the end of Keith, Bayston has gone on to become one of the most in-demand musicians around, working as an engineer, writing, producing and performing with the likes of Willy Mason, Steve Mason, Anita Blay, Lianne La Havas, Rose Elinor Dougall and even Lily Allen.
With their self-titled debut album now released, displaying a wonderful dance/synth-pop with a strong undercurrent of piano, fans have engulfed themselves in a smorgasbord of quirky pop and sticky sweet earworms. Opening track ‘Mystery’ flows from a riff that could be out of a house compilation, but it’s penned from a grand piano rather than a synthesised loop, giving a classical feel to what will become a resurgent pop classic. The frenetic ‘False Alarm’ reverberated with enough bass to topple the sturdiest speaker, and ‘No Joke’ feeds a four-four beat into a kaleidoscopic smooth synth patchwork.
It’s Oli Bayston’s dexterity, merging everything from the house record he was influenced by as a child to the contemporary bands he fell in love with as a teenager, which makes Boxed In such a special proposition live.
Boxed In perform at Gorilla on Tuesday 16 June. Tickets £9 in advance.
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