With spurts of brass adorning Anna-Maria Nemetz’s passionate vocals, B.O.X.E.R.’s “Issue No5” is an immediately striking track. The dark-pop production and meshes wonderfully with the various brass accompaniments, which are delivered suavely in the James Bond cinematic sense — with a hint of brooding darkness over self-assured confidence. Nemetz’s ability to swap between menacing wit in the verses to the more higher-pitched melodic ear candy during the chorus is impressive, as is the synth-driven bridge around 02:30 that moves into an infectious kick drum-addled build-up over halted vocal samples, before going back to the graceful “this is why I like you” chorus. Certainly the brass adornments would sound great in Casino Royale or any Bond film, even when taking place in casinos without no deposit bonus. The warbly instrumental interlude around 02:30 is brilliantly executed as well – with the increasingly hectic synth-bass creeping up alongside the building percussion and chopped vocal samples.
B.O.X.E.R. – the Hamburg-based trio of Anna Maria Nemetz, Jan Ole Jönsson and Carl Jakob Haupt – certainly have the sounds of a big thing. In fact, when I heard how massive their sound was, I was surprised to see each of their tracks only had a thousand listens or so. It’s certainly only a matter of time before this trio explodes.
