Playing Glastonbury in 2003, the band where swiftly signed to Alan McGee's Poptones label before Nathan Nicholson was hospitalised due to severe stomach cramps: a twelve hour operation to remove a life threatening growth ultimately saving the young singer's life. Early 2004 saw Nicholson recovering and recuperating before the band headed to the studio with Foo Fighters producer Chris Sheldon, where The Boxer Rebellion started work on debut album EXITS. The sessions proved somewhat less than successful however, the band instead regrouping with original demo producer Mark Robinson to cement their sound.

Tours with the likes of Biffy Clyro and The Raveonettes saw the band continuing to grow and evolve, 2009 seeing them releasing album number two, UNION, a record recorded once more with producer Chris Sheldon. In typically difficult and fraught conditions though, UNION is self released following the implosion of Alan McGee's Poptones label, originally debuting as a digital only release early in the year and finally emerging here as a psychical copy.

UNION is a record worth all the wait and hiccups though, The Boxer Rebellion crafting a collection of songs veering between delicate intimacy and searing white noise anthemics. Opener FLASHING RED LIGHT MEANS GO is a storming slice of fist pumping indie rock-o-rama, Nicholson unleashing a yearning croon that proves this band's true heart and soul, his presence able to tug at the heartstrings, a dramatic mash up between Thom Yorke and Richard Ashcroft. MOVE ON continues much in the same vein, The Boxer Rebellion dealing in brooding indie rock histrionics, Nicholsons schizophrenic lurches between deadpan baritone and delicate falsetto a joy to behold.

EVACUATE ups the noisy guitars and scattershot drum patterns, the band revealing their more boisterous, playful side; echoes of US indie stalwarts Built To Spill, Polvo and Archers Of Loaf rising to the fore. With SOVIETS, things ease into gentler more acoustic territory, Nicholson crooning delicately against simple sparse guitar chords, wringing raw emotion from every line he utters, something echoed on the haunting MISPLACED, a distant cousin to Radioheads' No Surprises with it's reverberating guitar arpeggios and cascading melodies.

THE GOSPEL OF GORO ADACHI continues those Radiohead comparisons, this time round though The Boxer Rebellion delving into the indie-tronica excursions of KId A and Hail To The Thief, a result that throws up similarly spectacular results. Unfortunately the following THESE WALLS ARE THIN feels a little less than special, The Boxer Rebellion delivering simple indie rock by-the-numbers, Nicholson seeming to morph into Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft for two and a half less than inspiring minutes.

Closing number SILENT MOVIE ends things in style though, the band retreating back to more delicate, intricate musical avenues; Nicholson proving himself once again a frontman able to wring emotional intensity and passion from each and every word, the rest of the band grooving to a slow burning build that ultimately plays out like the perfect amalgamation of Radiohead, Explosions In The Sky and Built To Spill.

UNION is a special sounding album from The Boxer Rebellion, one that manages to take this bands fraught and difficult history and distil it into a collection of songs that mesmerise and engage from the get go. There may be obvious echoes of Radiohead in the bands overall sound, but The Boxer Rebellion manage to build upon these echoes to establish a sound they can call their own here with UNION.

BIOGRAPHY (wikipedia)
The Boxer Rebellion is an alternative rock band formed in London, United Kingdom around 2001, consisting of Nathan Nicholson (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Todd Howe (lead guitar), Adam Harrison (bass guitar), and Piers Hewitt (drums). They have so far released two albums, Exits (2005) and Union (2009)