A cursory glimpse at the track listing of Post Exotic – ‘Googoo’, ‘Licky Licky Lick’, ‘Beach! Beach! Beach!’ – suggests that we are not exactly dealing with a work of staggering maturity. Anglo-French duo Bosco Rogers come off like Temples’ adolescent younger brothers, swapping an obsession with early Pink Floyd/Bolan for girls, bodily fluids, and general naughtiness.
Which, it has to be said, makes for a fun listen. The songs rarely outstay their welcome and frequently struggle to get past the two-minute mark. Opener ‘Googoo’ sets the template – stomping rhythm, breezy surf guitar, gleefully dumb lyrics (“When I see you in your underwear/Will you let me be your guru guru?/I know I’ve never been to Santa Fe/And all I’ve got to give’s my goo goo goo goo.” Er, right.)
Post Exotic is frequently a balancing act between the band’s sleazy garage rock leanings (the shuffling, slurred ‘Anvers’ – one of the best things here – is deeply in debt to The Libertines) which never quite convince; and their knack for a tune, which certainly does – single ‘The Middle’ is a once-heard-never-forgotten earworm, whilst the swaggering title track has the youthful verve of early Supergrass. By the way, if whistling in pop songs isn’t your thing, you should give these two tracks a very wide berth. I’m not normally a fan but I’m sitting here whistling along as I type, for which Bosco Rogers are to be applauded.
It isn’t all teenage frivolity, though, and when the band show their more thoughtful side they hint at great things. The breathy, saucy ‘Million’ aches with romantic regret – “I’ve been in love with a million girls/But with every girl there comes a cautionary tale/The stories change/But it always ends the same”; whilst ‘True Romance’ is very clearly a stab at anthem-for-a-generation status – “We’re a generation that has died in shame… We want to live/We want to dance/We want to fill our hearts with the true romance of life.” Yes, it’s cheesy as hell but, and I say this as someone who did his peak living and dancing a long time ago, it’s also bloody great.
Post Exotic won’t win awards or be featured in greatest albums list in 10 years’ time, but that isn’t the point. It’s a fun, lusty, big-hearted pop record, and might just be the start of a brilliant career.
