Fling Yr Bonnet Over The Windmill (The Sarah Singles)

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Known for frantic guitar tones, yearning melodies, and a restless creative drive, British group Boyracer were one of the lesser-championed but nonetheless definitive examples of early indie pop at its best. The band was active off and on from 1990 to 2008, slipping into a more hiatus-like status after that. Centered around songwriter Stewart Anderson, Boyracer in various formations and lineups quickly became known for the prolific releases of their short, frequent songs on different indie labels, leaning often toward the 7" single as their preferred medium. Fling Yr Bonnet Over the Windmill collects some of the band's earliest and arguably best material, compiling three EPs released on hallowed twee pop label Sarah Records between 1993 and 1994. The early '90s weren't short on obscure indie pop bands testing the limits of where noise and songcraft could go, but these 15 tracks act as both a fantastic entry point to the Boyracer sound as well as illustrating what made that sound stand apart. Even in their earliest forms, Boyracer were more abrasive and uptempo. While contemporaries like Black Tambourine and Rocketship flirted with overdriven textures and feedback, the songs on Fling Yr Bonnet are largely marked by harsh, sandblasted guitar tones and drums that lean toward a punk approach. Lo-fi blasts like "I've Got It and It's Not Worth Having" and "Wanting for All the Wrong Reasons" speed by, sounding as if from an alternate universe where the Go-Betweens are attempting to re-create White Light/White Heat in a hurry. Rather than opting to hide the vocals in reverb and delay, most songs find Anderson's vocals clearly divulging his lyrics of wistful heartache and longing. The often no-frills production also highlights the band's unpredictable song structures. This is especially true of the five songs that first saw the light of day as the Pure Hatred 96 EP. Bounding from fuzzy pop tunes to acoustic fare, songs like "Denatured" and "Don't Just Don't" take unexpected left turns, moving jaggedly through wails of feedback and forlorn melodies. Sonically, this snapshot of Boyracer's strong early-'90s output bears similarities to the rough edges and bending paths of Pavement's piecemeal collection Westing (By Musket and Sextant). Both display fearless disregard for preordained standards of "good recording quality" and both exemplify songwriters who are equal parts curious and driven. While Pavement would grow more straightforward and less noisy, Boyracer continued to push toward redefinition of what pop meant, and echoes of their itinerant experimental songwriting could be heard later in acts like the Aislers Set and Kicking Giant, or in the wilder reaches of the Elephant 6 collective. Rearranged from the original track listings, Fling Yr Bonnet Over the Windmill feels more like an album than a compilation, and while it's hard to pick favorites from a band with over 800 songs, these are undoubtedly at the top of the very long list. ~ Fred Thomas