Men Among Boys – a cryptic, multi-talented duo of Londoners with a single song to their name – have returned to follow their chilling debut track with “Purple/Black”, an equally impressive, self-produced effort that nonchalantly channels the ethos of several major contemporary artists. Otherwise enveloped in a cavernous darkness, soulful, sobering singing ensures that the fiery light of humanity continues to burn bright.
A sizable shift in the production’s velocity veers the duo in an uptempo direction; croons slide above a bottom layer of hurried, metallic clanks like water does a rocky riverbed. Lyrically more esoteric than its predecessor, “Purple/Black” instead begs any listener to question the range and quality of the duo’s vocality.
Particularly special is the shapeless, malleably interpretable persona projected by the music of Men Among Boys. As the song first unravels during its opening moments, the cyclical pounding of the drums conjures images of a thousand-men army, ascending a mountainous, forrest-laden land – browned twigs and dim leaves crunching beneath the soldiers feet. Yet in another instant, sentiments of relations seem to arrive.
Much is to be said of Men Among Boys; put simply, they are what’s next. Stream “Purple/Black” below. Listen to Men Among Boys’ last (and first ever) release here.