While their band name first brought non-threatening boy-band music to my mind, this first impression about Brooklyn outfit B Boys could not be more misleading. No Worry No Mind opens with the explosive “Seagulls”, laced with inexorable guitar sound and insistent kit work to match. This lo-fi punk sound continues more or less throughout. The group are not ones to shy away from kicking off a song with simple, driving guitar work and building up from there. By the time we hit the first single, “Get a Grip”, we’ve become wise to this trick, and what results is a slight lack of interest from the listener’s point of view.
What certainly is pleasing about this release, however, is the level of attention the group show in drawing from classic punk sounds. The wildly charismatic vocals, sudden textual shifts, snappy song lengths and driving grooves across the board all show an appreciation for punk’s glory days. This EP promises to satisfy those who have kept their Bad Brains t-shirts from the 1980s and still yell “Hey ho, let’s go” whenever leaving their house. If you aren’t in this category, this one may take a few listens to grow on you. Although this isn’t to say that No Worry No Mind is totally inaccessible for non-punk fans. The less bombastic “Other Head”, another of the singles from the EP, is perhaps more approachable for a wider audience. The grit is still there on this track, however, ensuring B Boys never desert the warts-and-all sound that they cherish so dearly.