Although they were swiftly overtaken by the emergence of a custom-crafted
power pop
movement, for much of 1977-1978
the Boys
reigned supreme in the bright and breezy bubble
punk
stakes, simply churning out a succession of two-to-three-minute gems that flooded not only their albums and singles, but also the realms of the alter-ego
Yobs
. Patently influenced by
the Ramones
but readily avoiding the most obvious traps by virtue of their own understanding of what made a
pop
song tick,
' first two singles,
"I Don't Care"
and
"The First Time,"
remain period classics, while their debut album, September 1977's
The Boys
, went on to nibble the U.K. Top 50 at a time when such glories were still a rare achievement. Tightly scything guitars, sharply embroidered keyboards, and
Kid Reid
's contagiously imploring vocals dominate the proceedings, a relentlessly crisp buzzsaw whine that is as melodic as it is fast and as irresistibly
singalong
as it is either. Time, the enemy of so many
-era artifacts, hasn't dented the album's pleasures; indeed, it might even have heightened them, as a direct line of descent to the modern likes of
Green Day
is revealed in living neon. Several early CD reissues did little justice to the album; the
Captain Oi
release, however, is essential, not only for the mastering and packaging, but also for eight bonus tracks that include the first stirrings of the aforementioned
, a pair of non-album B-sides, and two songs (
"Lonely Schooldays"
"Take a Heart"
) that have never previously seen the light of day, but slide straight into the soul of the album regardless. ~ Dave Thompson