By Eleni P. Austin
Last year, serendipity and social media collided, the result was the return of the beloved British band bôa. Quite unexpectedly, their best-known song, “Duvet” popped up on TikTok and went viral in the best possible way. Suddenly, the band, which broke up in 2005, were part of the zeitgeist.
bôa originally formed in 1993, in its earliest incarnation, it was a Funk band. The four-piece included drummer Ed Herten, Paul Terrell on keys, Alex Caird on bass and Steve Rodgers on guitars and vocals. Steve, the son of legendary Free/Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers, recruited his younger sister, Jasmine to sing the chorus of one of their early songs, and rather quickly, she was invited to join bôa as their lead singer.
Their first live performance, they faced a daunting challenge, opening for their world-famous dad at the London Forum. Their talent immediately shone through. When Ed left the band, Lee Sullivan took over behind the drum kit. Two years later they signed with a Japanese label and their debut, The Race Of A Thousand Camels, arrived in 1998. One song, “Duvet,” was used as the opening theme for the Japanese anime series Serial Experiments Lain. At the dawn of the 21st century, they switched labels and rereleased their debut in the U.S. under a new title, Twilight. A U.S tour followed, not long after, Paul left the band and Steve followed suit. The rest of bôa amicably parted ways by 2005. All of the band members have remained active in the music world after bôa’s demise, most prominently, Jasmine who launched a solo career and has recorded two critically acclaimed EPs and a long-player, Blood Red Sun.
Rather randomly, “Duvet” began a second life in 2021. First, it was sampled by Spanish Urban-Trap singer-producer, Yung Beef. Suddenly, record labels and music publishing firms were reaching out to the band. Then last year, the song found an audience on social media, earning seven million streams a week. Since then, it’s been used over 250,000 times as a soundtrack for TikTok videos. Sadly, Paul Turrell passed away in 2017 and missed out on the belated success.
The band fielded offers to reunite and hit the road. Rather than tour as a nostalgia act, playing music from 20 years ago, they opted to sign with a major indie label, Nettwerk Records (original home to hitmakers like Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, Dido and Coldplay). Finally, as a three-piece, Jasmine on lead vocals, guitar and piano, Alex on a plethora of guitars and bass and Lee on drums and percussion, headed into the recording studio. The result is their first new music in nearly two decades, Whiplash.
The record kicks in as though already in progress with “Let Me In,” and it’s as though the band had never been away. Liquid acoustic arpeggios partner with swaying electric riffs, lithe bass lines, whooshy keys and a clackity beat. Jasmine’s vocals dip and soar atop honeyed harmonies as lyrics attempt the tenderest way to end a relationship: “And when I walk away, I’ll know that I’ve been loved, no more tears, no more tears, all the fears, all the fears, all the years I’ve given you, give them back to me, in the end, in the end, we’ll be friends, we’ll be friends, we’ll be friends, say goodbye, say goodbye and let me go.” Guitars spiral and strings shimmer on the break, the song builds to a to a stunning crescendo before Jasmine has the last word: “And when you walk away, you’ll know that you’ve been loved, with all my heart.”
In retrospect, it’s kind of shocking that bôa didn’t have a wider audience here in the U.S. Their music is in the same wheelhouse as Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins and The Sundays, equal parts lush, Baroque and dreamy. But on the new record, they exhibit a more rough and tumble sound on a couple of tracks, “Worry” and “Strange Few.”
The former is a feral Rocker that opens with Jasmine’s urgent cri du cœur, just ahead pounding drums, prowling guitars and throbbing bass. Lyrics function as a mental health check: “I’m taking all of the all the passion that I had, I’m trying to hold it in my hands but I let it fall, and in the end it becomes my own destroyer, I turned it round and I’m lost again.” Guitars strafe across the break, as the song rounds the final curve a pummeling drum salvo ushers it to a close.
The latter is powered by squiggly guitar figures, marauding bass lines, a see-saw beat and sawing strings. Jasmine’s vocals display a harder edge as lyrics spiral down a psychological rabbit-hole: “Build walls inside your own head, closed doors in the same rooms and sad stumble of the old chair, dust falls on their cold, cold stares.” As the arrangement accelerates, the instrumentation drills down with a moody magnificence as rapid-fire guitars and sinewy bass lines wash over gothic strings and a crashing beat. At the last minute, Jasmine pulls back from the abyss: “Somehow, you know there is more to do, somehow you can turn it around again…to your delight, you find you still care.”
This record is wonderful front to back, but a few songs stand out from the pack. “Beautiful But Broken” is a wistful minor key waltz that matches braided acoustic guitars, airy strings, mercurial electric riffs, cascading piano notes and buoyant bass to a rippling beat. Jasmine’s vocals soar and shiver, as perspicacious lyrics remind us that perfection doesn’t automatically equate grace: “I wish that I was stronger, I wish that I was better, but I think there’s something beautiful in the broken.” As strings swell on the break a Jazzy guitar solo ricochets through the mix. Effortless and elegant, it sports an irresistible hook that reels you in and holds you close. There’s a Punktastic energy to “Seafarer.” Scattershot guitars collide with boinging bass, plinky piano and a pogo beat. Time signatures shift, Jasmine’s honeyed vocals belie lyrics that offer a nautically themed kiss-off: “All the fire that used to flame, no more stars up in my sky, I’m sailing further than I meant to go, the waves will wash/You go your own way honey, see you later, you go your own way darling, I say goodbye now, you go your own way precious, take it easy, you go your own way baby, I never knew you.” The action slows momentarily on the break, as Alex uncoils a snake-charmer riff that slithers across wily bass lines and is bookended by a stuttery back-beat.
“Vienna” wears its heart on its sleeve. Plangent guitars wrap around sylvan strings, taut bass lines and a tick-tock beat. Jasmine’s conversational tone can’t camouflage the angst behind lyrics aimed at a withholding lover: “Don’t give me an excuse to break it all today, these games that we play, I don’t wanna play, I don’t wanna play/Take the pieces off the bôard and show me your rules, and take the pieces off the board, cos I’ll let you win.”
Despite its ambivalent title, the melody and arrangement of “I Don’t Know,” seem incapable of equivocation. Brawny bass lines and a trap-kit beat make way for shards of dissonant guitar that are quietly juxtaposed by gossamer strings. Jasmine’s hesitation is mirrored by diffident lyrics like “All the things I wanna tell you, simple feelings I can’t convey, meaning in the things I do, said I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.”
Finally, the title track is swirly and Psychedelic in all the right ways. Shuddery guitars and vinegary bass lines are shackled to a breakneck beat. Lyrics find Jasmine wrestling with her demons: “Whiplash, before you know you’re broken, turning into breakdown, scars go deep into a heartache.” But the New Wave-flavored arrangement, pulsating instrumentation and sunny chorus make it impossible to dwell on the emotional disconnect.
Other interesting tracks include “Walk With Me,” a tensile tale of instant attraction accented by walloping drums, pinwheeling bass and wiry guitar riffs. Jasmine’s head is turned by a pretty face, but she’s determined to take it slow. Then there’s, the jangly “Crawling” chronicles a one-night stand that becomes something more significant. Meanwhile, there’s the icy heartbreak of “Frozen,” which is anchored by slinky bass, pastoral strings, shang-a-lang guitars and a slipstitch beat. Once again, Jasmine’s stunning turns of phrase deflects from the lyrical sturm und drang.
The record closes on an upbeat note with “Shadow.” Loose-limbed guitars connect with thready bass and an elastic backbeat. Jasmine’s willowy vocals deftly somersault through the melody, even as lyrics advise maintaining a low profile. It’s a thrilling finish to a brilliant return. Much like the inclusion of “Running Up The Hill” in the TV series Stranger Things catapulted Kate Bush into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, bôa’s raised profile guaranteed that the song “Duvet” achieved Platinum status, meaning over a million sold. The first leg of their American tour instantly sold out, and subsequent tours in the U.K. and Australia were equally as successful.
bôa acquits themselves beautifully on Whiplash. The songs feel instantly familiar to old fans, yet they’ve added new colors and textures to their sonic palette. There is certainly something to be said for delayed gratification.
