Boys Like Girls (album)

2006 studio album by Boys Like Girls

Boys Like Girls

Studio album by

Boys Like Girls

Released| August 22, 2006
Recorded| Early 2006
Genre|

* Pop rock
* pop-punk
* emo pop
* alternative rock

Length| 45:14
Label|

* Columbia
* Red Ink

Producer| Matt Squire
Boys Like Girls chronology
|  | Boys Like Girls
(2006)  | Love Drunk
(2009)

|
|

Singles from  Boys Like Girls

1. "Hero/Heroine"
Released: October 16, 2006
2. "The Great Escape"
Released: March 3, 2007
3. "Thunder"
Released: May 6, 2008

Boys Like Girls is the debut studio album by American rock band Boys Like Girls. It was released on August 22, 2006, by Columbia Records and Red Ink. The album garnered a mixed reception from critics. Boys Like Girls reached number 55 on the Billboard 200 and spawned three singles: "Hero/Heroine", "The Great Escape" and "Thunder". To promote the record, the band toured across North America and the UK as support for various pop-punk acts, with appearances at music festivals and amusement parks.

## Background

[edit]

Boys Like Girls formed in late 2005 when vocalist/guitarist Martin Johnson, previously of the band IDK, wrote a few songs that he wished to record. He subsequently brought in bassist Bryan Donahue and drummer John Keefe, both of whom Johnson had played within local acts Lancaster and The Bends. Keefe, in turn, recruited guitarist Paul DiGiovanni.[1] They posted a handful of demos online, and by the end of the year, were attracting a following and noticed by booking agent Matt Galle and producer Matt Squire, both of whom wanted to work with the band.[2] In February and March 2006, the band supported A Thorn for Every Heart on their US tour.[3] Following its conclusion, the band went to record their debut album with Squire.[2] He acted as the producer, engineer; he mixed every track except "The Great Escape" and "On Top of the World", which were mixed by Tom Lord-Alge with assistance from Femio Hernandez at South Beach Studios. George Marino mastered the album at Sterling Sound in New York.[4]

## Composition

[edit]

According to a lyric feature written by the album's principal songwriter, Martin Johnson, the lyrical content of the songs is semi-autobiographical.[5]

> Our self-titled debut goes through a series of events throughout the tracklisting, representing the last two years of my life. Though the songs weren't composed with that in mind, once they were all recorded it became apparent that there was a story of love, loss, youth, and angst for the future that was waiting to be told. The songs go from optimistic songs and love songs to loss and breakup songs, ending back with "Holiday", which starts the sequence over and symbolizes moving on and cycles in everyone's life.[5]

While, as the title might suggest, songs about boys liking girls clearly prevail on the album, Johnson occasionally touched upon themes such as his mother's battle with cancer, leaving home, and promiscuous adolescents. Concerning the latter, he discussed the motivation behind the song "Dance Hall Drug":

> So many kids are growing up too fast. 13-year olds are giving each other hand jobs in the back of the bus, 14-year olds are already drinking and partying, and kids spend more time worried about growing up and being cool than they do actually growing up and being a kid.[6]

The song "On Top of the World" is about Johnson's late mother.[5]

## Release

[edit]

On July 24, 2006, Boys Like Girls was announced for release in the following month. It was released on August 22 through Red Ink and Columbia Records.[7] The album's lead single was "Hero/Heroine", which was followed by "The Great Escape", and the re-release of Hero/Heroine and then "Thunder". In October, the band went on tour with Lostprophets. Following this, the band went on tour with Spitalfield, Punchline, Valencia and Over It in November and December.[8]

In February and March 2007, the group supported Cartel on their tour of the US.[9] On March 13, "The Great Escape" was released to mainstream radio.[10] Following this, they appeared at The Bamboozle festival.[11] From early April to early June, the band supported Hellogoodbye on their Two Months Of Spring Break Tour '99 tour of North America.[12] From late June to late August, the band went on the 2007 edition of Warped Tour.[13] Starting in late September, the group headlined the Tourzilla tour. The first part ran from late September to late October and featured All Time Low, the Audition and We the Kings, while the second part ran from late October and continued into November with All Time Low, the Audition and Valencia. During this tour, a deluxe edition of Boys Like Girls was released. The CD came with enhanced content which consisted of a photo gallery, videos of the group's AOL Sessions performance, as well as live footage of "Heels Over Head" and "The Great Escape". The CD features new mixes of "Hero/Heroine" and "Heels Over Head", done by Tom Lord-Alge, and an acoustic version of "Hero/Heroine" as bonus tracks.[14] On October 16, "Hero/Heroine" was released to mainstream radio.[10]

From early March to early May 2008, the band supported Avril Lavigne on her The Best Damn World Tour in the US.[15] "Thunder" was released to top 40 radio stations[16] on May 6.[10] In July and August, the group went on a co-headlining US tour with Good Charlotte, with support from Metro Station and the Maine, dubbed the Soundtrack of Your Summer tour.[16] In between dates on this tour, the band performed at various Six Flags locations as part of the mtvU Video Music Awards Tour.[17] In September and October, the band went on the Verizon College tour with Cute Is What We Aim For and Lights.[18] In January 2009, the band went on a tour of the UK with Metro Station.[19] In 2016, the band went on tour for the tenth anniversary of the album and played the record in its entirety.[20]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AbsolutePunk| (65%)[21]
AllMusic| [22]
IGN| 6.8/10[23]
Melodic| [24]

Corey Apar from AllMusic commended the band's musical abilities under the emo pop-rock subgenre but felt they lacked a unique quirk to separate them from similar acts that have "the overwhelming catchiness of the All-American Rejects or the unbridled enthusiasm of the City Drive." He concluded that: "Regardless, those looking for a quick fix will surely eat up the likes of Boys Like Girls."[22] IGN's Chad Grischow highlighted the band's penchant for "solid vocals and pop sensibilities ("The Great Escape, "Heels Over Head")" and gave note of their credentials in the emo genre ("Broken Man", "Dance Hall Drug"), but found the rest of the album sounding too similar to Jimmy Eat World and The Postal Service, along with an overabundance of sappy lyrics sung with auto-effected vocals, concluding that: "Boys Like Girls are not a groundbreaking band by any means, but despite the occasionally heavy-handed borrowings and lazy lyrics, there are enough glimpses of promise within their debut to make it worth checking out."[23]

Cleveland.com ranked "The Great Escape" at number 69 on their list of the top 100 pop-punk songs.[25] Alternative Press ranked "The Great Escape" at number 97 on their list of the best 100 singles from the 2000s.[26]

## Commercial performance

[edit]

While the online community and critics crowned Boys Like Girls "2006's Panic! at the Disco or Fall Out Boy",[27] album sales were less convincing. Despite promotional front page features (such as Spin's "Artist of the Day" or Absolutepunk.net's "Featured Band" and "Absolute Exclusive: Album Leak"),[28] Boys Like Girls scanned a mere 1,472 units within its first week of sales, thus failing to chart the Billboard 200.[29] However, continuous touring and promoting helped gaining the record a No. 179 entry into the chart in April 2007.[30] It continued to gain popularity as the single, "The Great Escape", climbed the charts and eventually peaked at No. 55 in August 2007.[31] The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 units shipped.[32] By May 2008, the album had sold 532,000 copies.[16] As of June 2009, the album sold 700,000 in the United States.[33]

## Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Martin Johnson, except where noted.[4]

Standard EditionNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "The Great Escape"|

* Martin Johnson
* Sam Hollander
* Dave Katz

| 3:28
2.| "Five Minutes to Midnight"|

* Johnson
* Hollander
* Katz

| 3:47
3.| "Hero/Heroine"|  | 3:52
4.| "On Top of the World"|  | 3:36
5.| "Thunder"|  | 3:56
6.| "Me, You and My Medication"|  | 4:28
7.| "Up Against the Wall"|

* Johnson
* Hollander
* Katz

| 3:39
8.| "Dance Hall Drug"|  | 3:29
9.| "Learning to Fall"|

* Johnson
* Hollander
* Katz

| 3:04
10.| "Heels Over Head"|  | 3:08
11.| "Broken Man"|  | 3:31
12.| "Holiday"|  | 5:08
Total length:| 45:14

Bonus TracksNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Hero/Heroine (Acoustic Version)"| 3:55
2.| "Hero/Heroine (Tom Lord-Alge Mix)"| 3:46

## Personnel

[edit]

Adapted credits from the liner notes of Boys Like Girls.[4]

Boys Like Girls

* Martin Johnson – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
* John Keefe – drums
* Bryan Donahue – bass
* Paul DiGiovanni – lead guitar

Production and design

* Matt Squire – producer, engineer, mixing (all except tracks 1 and 4)
* Tom Lord-Alge – mixing (tracks 1 and 4)
* Femio Hernandez – assistant
* George Marino – mastering
* Shane McCauley – photography
* Matt Govaere – art direction, graphic design

|

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for Boys Like Girls | Chart (2006–2008)  | Peak
position

|

UK Albums (OCC)[34] | 195
US Billboard 200[31] | 55
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[35] | 2
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[36] | 12
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37] | 14

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Year-end chart performance for Boys Like Girls | Chart (2008)  | Peak
position

|

US Billboard 200[38] | 164

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United States (RIAA)[39] | Gold  | 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Boys Like Girls". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
2. ^ a b Apar, Corey. "Boys Like Girls | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
3. ^ "A Thorn For Every Heart touring with Hit The Lights, more". Alternative Press. February 14, 2006. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
4. ^ a b c Boys Like Girls (booklet). Boys Like Girls. Columbia Records. 2007. 88697 18816 2.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
5. ^ a b c "Euphonia Online". Lyric Feature – Boys Like Girls by Boys Like Girls.
6. ^ "Featured Release: Boys Like Girls". PlayPro.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
7. ^ Roth, Kaj (July 24, 2006). "Emo From Boston – Here's Boys Like Girls". Melodic (magazine). Retrieved October 6, 2018.
8. ^ IGN Music (October 2, 2006). "Boys Like Girls Road Rage". IGN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
9. ^ Reinecker, Meg (January 12, 2007). "Cartel / Cobra Starship / Boys Like Girls / Permanent Me". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
10. ^ a b c "Radio Industry". FMQB. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
11. ^ Reinecker, Meg (December 24, 2006). "More bands added to Bamboozle line-up". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
12. ^ "Hellogoodbye announce North American tour w/ Hush Sound". Alternative Press. February 27, 2007. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
13. ^ "Throwdown added to Warped 07; Madina Lake drop off". Alternative Press. April 26, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
14. ^ "Boys Like Girls to release deluxe edition of debut album". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
15. ^ "Boys Like Girls to open Avril Lavigne arena tour in 2008". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
16. ^ a b c Cohen, Jonathan (May 13, 2008). "Good Charlotte, Boys Like Girls Team For Tour". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
17. ^ "mtvU Video Music Awards Tour at Six Flags 2008". MTVu. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
18. ^ "Warner Bros. Records Partners with Doghouse to Sign Electro-Pop Artist LIGHTS Label to Release Debut EP from Young Canadian Songstress on September 23rd, 2008". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. September 15, 2008. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
19. ^ "Boys Like Girls / Metro Station to tour the UK". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. November 23, 2008. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
20. ^ "Boys Like Girls announce self-titled 10-year anniversary tour dates". Alternative Press. May 9, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
21. ^ Pascarella, Tony (July 22, 2006). "Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls – Album Review". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
22. ^ a b Apar, Corey. "Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
23. ^ a b Grischow, Chad (August 28, 2006). "Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls". IGN. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
24. ^ Roth, Kaj (August 19, 2006). "Boys Like Girls – s/t". Melodic (magazine). Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
25. ^ Smith, Troy L. (March 2, 2022). "The 100 greatest pop punk songs of all time". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
26. ^ Paul, Aubin (November 20, 2009). "At The Drive-In's 'One Armed Scissor' tops AP's 'Haircut 100' singles countdown". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
27. ^ Bivens, Trevor (August 4, 2006). "Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls". Driven Far Off. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
28. ^ Bryce Jacobson (August 24, 2006). "Boys Like Girls, Spin's Artist of the Day". Driven Far Off. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
29. ^ "Soundscan Results: Week Ending August 27th, 2006". Absolutepunk.net. August 30, 2006. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2010.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
30. ^ Kohli, Rohan (April 11, 2007). "Boys Like Girls Makes It into Billboard 200 For First Time". Absolutepunk.net. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
31. ^ a b "Boys Like Girls Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
32. ^ "Rapidly Rising Boston Band Boys Like Girls Invited to Open for Avril Lavigne on Upcoming..." Reuters. January 14, 2008. Archived from the original on November 15, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
33. ^ "Boys Like Girls Announce Sept. 8 Release of Sophomore Album, Love Drunk". Sony Music. June 29, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
34. ^ "Chart Log UK: Darren B – David Byrne". zobbel.de. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
35. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
36. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History: Top Alternative Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
37. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
38. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
39. ^ "American single certifications – Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 28, 2025.

* v
* t
* e

Boys Like Girls

* Martin Johnson
* John Keefe
* Gregory James
* Jamel Hawke

* Bryan Donahue
* Paul DiGiovanni
* Morgan Dorr

Studio albums|

* Boys Like Girls
* Love Drunk
* Crazy World
* Sunday at Foxwoods

Singles|

* "Hero/Heroine"
* "The Great Escape"
* "Thunder"
* "Love Drunk"
* "Two Is Better Than One"
* "Heart Heart Heartbreak"
* "Be Your Everything"
* "Blood and Sugar"

Related articles|

* Discography

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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