Void Boys

Sitting atop a heap of ingredients consisting of the melodic cacophony displayed in the American alt-rock aesthetics of the 90’s, blended together with a shoegaze twist and washed down with a garage mentality, San Francisco’s Void Boys latest single, ‘Starfish‘, plays out to be a refreshing and energizing 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

Taken from the ‘Starfish‘ mini EP released via Pretty Penny Records, the lead single greets you with a wall of sound right for the start, populated by swamping, thickset distortion and a tumultuous rhythm section that’s employed to dress up the melodic riffage on show.

What’s completely beguiling about the song is guitarist Shannon Bodrogi’s joint vocals during the verse with the other members of the band. Creating a kooky, personality-filled harmony that’s easily reminiscent to the same vocal deliveries found on various Splendora records, your ears are tickled by the type of vocal inflections discharged and you’re felt compelled to listen on.

Maintaining attention as the song progresses is a rewarding experience, as the dynamic, borderline orchestral instrumentation and climatic songwriting is an ode to the type of laudable musicianship on offer. This equation then of high-grade talent and songwriting makes Void Boys ‘Starfish‘ a gripping listen and the stream of the song below will stand testament to the notion that the bands future is surely a promising one. - Wax Music

A comfortable, calming feeling can be achieved while sitting at the beach at night and watching the moon reflect off the waves. San Francisco’s Void Boys capture that feeling in their recent release, Starfish Single.

A mix of pop-punk, surf-rock and a little grunge are heard throughout the two track single released on March 14th through Pretty Penny Records. Coming out of San Francisco, the sound is refreshing because it doesn’t stick to the weird, noisy, pseudo-psychedelic garage-rock that the city’s music community has become known for in the last decade. Instead, Void Boys reaches back to a different part of the early 2000s, the more alternative rock side. Linear song structure and a dynamic that is easy to follow for the listener takes control of the album. Each part of each song allows enough time for foot tapping. Their songs are catchy and well structured, while not coming off as too jumpy.




The title track, Starfish shows the band’s ability to construct a truly dynamic song. The whole band comes in together, creating the often used cliche, “wall of sound”. The distorted guitar and bass, paired with driving drums are a complimentary backing to the male and female vocal harmonies that create a rather soothing feeling about the song.

Looking Down brings up memories of early Wavves tracks. Sounding more pop-punk than surf, the song feels romantic enough to tug at heart strings and fun enough to dance to. The song begins with drums and a distorted guitar, allowing time for the listener to get into a groove before the rest of the band comes in. Nothing fancy, just three chords, but let’s remember; sometimes simple is best. The vocals switch between a male and female lead with a nice mix of harmonies that are soothing among the driving instrumentals.

Two songs and less than seven minutes isn’t much time to persuade listeners to, well, listen. Void Boys takes advantage of the little time that a single allows them, and the two tracks flow seamlessly, complimenting each other enough to justify having paired them together on the album, but showing enough of a dynamic to share what the band has to offer when their full length record comes out. - Publik/Private