Ballet School is an international band firmly grounded in the Berlin DIY culture. The story goes (according to their facebook) that Irish born Rosie Blair saw Japanese-Brazilian guitarist Michel Collet playing in the “U-bahn” and immediately asked him to play. They later added drummer Louis McGuire to form a pop trio with heavy 80s pop influences like Madonna, The Cure, and The Cocteau Twins. Blair’s ephemeral voice rises above Collet’s heavily reverbed guitar, and McGuire keeps it all together and grounded.
On this Whiskey Session, Ballet School simplifies their ranks, playing “Boys Again” with only Blair and Collet. The two piece lineup is deliciously intimate, Collet’s guitar is flanged and reverb’d creating the wide expansive sound that Blair’s voice fits into, alternating between lower register during the verse and liltingly dancing in the upper octaves during the choruses. The song sounds like a lullaby, with the narrative voice referring to the “you” as “baby child” and “little prince.” “You can’t be a boy again” is repeated, and the theme of childhood regression comes to mind.
Ambient noise swarms around the song, cradling an intimate moment in the sounds of the city below. It’s that striking disconnection between song and context that makes this video so engrossing.
Article by: Steven Klett
