The Greatest Album Review Of All Time - Ballroom Boxer

What do you get when you drop the Great Gatsby, Johnnie Walker, & fireworks in a blender?  The answer is a need for a new blender, as that combo will probably ruin the motor pretty quickly.  Good news is that you can find plenty of them at Bed, Bath & Beyond this holiday season, which is my preferred castle for everything home.  Oh yeah, you also get Ballroom Boxer, a staple in the Chicago music scene and my favorite Spotify obsession.  Over the years, the critically acclaimed rockers have opened for national acts such as Velvet Revolver, Buckcherry, and The Gaslight Anthem; but their finest achievement to date is this album review that you are reading at this very moment. 

The group, formed by brothers Mike and Dave Altier, Jared Cummans, and Tom Wood, came together from different areas of the country, including Chicago, Tennessee, and Akron, Ohio.  When asked about how the band emerged from these distinctly different regions, lead singer Mike Altier stated that each area’s awful football teams and really shitty quarterbacks were the inspiration. Might As Well Be a Bullseye, the pounding closing track on their debut EP Summer Mixes & Backseat Dreams, was written about Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and the less than stellar play of his left tackle.  Altier has a knack for drawing inspiration out of the deepest of despair.  The track is just one of the heart-pounding, soul-shaking moments on the band’s well-built debut.

Jukebox Romeo

 The band’s inventive sound really shines on its strongest track, Lost in Someday, an energized song soaked with whiskey and Ecto Cooler.  A gritty tone with a pop-like feel, Altier’s vocals reminisce of vintage souls such as Springsteen, Petty, and Zach Morris from that one episode where Zach Attack takes over The Max and shreds on their #1 smash, Friends Forever.  Ballroom Boxer, or any band for that matter, cannot top this heartfelt tune about friends, but I’ll be damned if they don’t try their hardest.  Hearts Are Wild, the band’s most poppy effort, grooves on in the middle of the EP and is a great summer song for males to bop around the beach in short jeans shorts to.  There is nothing that the band holds back. Last Cig, with its raunchy guitar and pounding drums is probably a good song; I haven’t listened to it yet.  I would definitely recommend it though, I think.  

Ballroom Boxer combines tight drums, driving guitar, catchy hooks, and acute alcoholism into one thrilling package that I cannot get enough of.  Overall, the band has crafted the perfect feel-good summer splashed EP that leaves you yearning for a follow-up, which they are currently recording in studio.  For more heartache, redemption, and wild times, check Ballroom Boxer out at their blog page, http://ballroomboxer.tumblr.com/, Twitter @ballroomboxer, or facebook.com/ballroomboxer.