I’d like to introduce everyone to Booze Radly. This Philadelphia-based, five-piece emo/punk band is comprised of Alex Manescu (Guitar/Vocals), Dylan Molloy (keyboard/vocals), Vince Dejesus (Guitar), Youssef Moussa (Bass), and Peter Sovia (Drums). On their latest EP, entitled Lose, Badly, they take the best parts of “loser rock” and re-package it in a meaningful way that makes you ultimately root for their success. This band sounds like a mixture between Gob, Homegrown, and Weezer, all put into a blender to see what drink you’re ready to consume.
They kick things off with their lead single, “White Guy Emo,” that features some nice guest vocals from Gabby Relos to layer out their vocal attack. Manescu opens with, “First loves never really fade away / But how interesting is that for us to say / You know I’m tired and it’s a chore / But these songs keep coming cause all we are is bored,” as he captures that teenage, punk rock spirit in a nutshell. Other songs like the frenetic “Hydro Illogical” find Booze Radly experimenting with bratty vocals paired with a mosh pit-ready anthem, while “Crash and Burn” keeps the interest level high in this punk band’s attack.
The back half opens with the turned-down, near-acoustic ballad called “Unlearning Sadness.” It’s on the second verse that Manescu opens up about his father as he admits, “Now both just shells of a man / The kind of people I would never say I am / So stay close to my heart / I swear I’ll love you, no matter who you are.” It’s a brutally honest song about trying to escape who we are meant to be, or become. “Admission of Infirmity” was the only song that feels a tad out of place with its down-tuned guitars and shouted vocals, but the guitar solo by Dejesus in the middle keeps the song from being forgettable.
Closing out the Lose, Badly EP with “Nothing to Lose” finds the band at their most self-deprecating and depressed as they look for their place in this crazy world. Manescu’s vocals are growled through clenched teeth and fists as the backing band rocks their way to the finish line. Overall, this record is a solid introduction to the style that Booze Radly is going for, which wears their punk/emo influences proudly on their sleeves.