Los Angeles-based Australian artist Jeffrey Chan immerses across Boys Like Us: The Afters, a club-driven full-length continuation of his breakout EP. Blending house rhythms, heavy bass, and deep, sensual vocals, the queer club-pop record balances high-energy dancefloor release with emotional storytelling.
Album tracks “What Are Friends For” and “Rebound Boy” caught out ears previously with their hooky, stylish dance-pop sounds, and the rest of the album excels as well with its magnetic songwriting and charismatic flair. Among the many highlights, “Love It” doesn’t let up in its infectious stride. Lyrical ruminations on intimacy and a drive to “make you mine” combine with house-friendly rhythms and spacey synth warbles, with Chan’s vocals maintaining a suavely seductive allure. “Let me love you with this tethered heart,” the bridge stirs, arriving into a firmly replay-inducing “love the way you…” hook.
Another standout track, “Run That Mouth” melds a conversational narrative-like account with gyrating synth-bass. “So you play for me too long,” Chan’s vocals escalate with seamless vibrancy, contrasting beautifully between the debonair, pulsing verses and ardent expressiveness. Chan consistently shows an ability to jump cohesively between sensual electro-pop intrigue and danceable glitziness, and Boys Like Us: The Afters consistently enamors in its catchy songcraft, from the heavy danceable grime within “My Friends Are Hot” to the dreamy, fluttering arpeggios within “After Hours.”
—
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
