Reviews

A visually stunning EP with intense music to match. The theme is the American flag in a time of war; what does it mean when the president declares an end to major combat with troops dying every day and “will you fear freedom when it slaps you in the face?” With a sound that would be entirely at home on Level-Plane Records, Philadelphia’s Balboa take on contemporary culture in four short bursts.
 
Similar in stripped-down style to Hot Cross or Majority Rule, Balboa’s five piece hits every note as if it were the only one to count.  Sparse, but heavy, Balboa is at their best when they hit a melodic groove, and then pound the hell out of it.  However, on the title track, when it seems like they’ve finally nailed it down, a bizarre pro-war political stump speech eerily echoes in, drawing attention away from the unique instrumental that had just been assembled.
 
With a better name and perhaps more lyrics to give a stronger voice to their political opinions, Balboa could hit huge. This EP, “inspired by the atrocity that is the United States,” proves that the groundwork for something big has been laid. They’ve taken their name from a mainstream american movie hero and the name of their EP from a dada bohemian indictment of intellectuals by Francis Picabia. There is more to Balboa than appears on the surface, and it just might warrant checking out.