BMA single review by Vince Leigh
The BossHoss is a Berlin-based outfit that has been steadily creating a global wide niche with a particular brand of contemporary country-pop fusion.
With over two million albums sold worldwide, the band’s albums have garnered gold and platinum status, particularly in Germany, where it attained the coveted number position with Liberty Of Action.
Comprising Alec ‘Boss Burns’ Völkel and Sascha ‘Hoss Power’ Vollmer, The BossHoss combine a country rock spirit with a Las Vegas slash Studio 54 sensibility—and all that entails—the band has released the lead track from its forthcoming tenth studio album, Electric Horsemen.
The latest single, YOU, is a collaboration with Dutch country-pop star Ilse DeLange. A quirky rhythmic loop introduces the track, a foundational quarter note bass drum augmenting the verse’s melodic structure and giving us the first taste of the vocal—lean, low, and persuasive. The second iteration of the verse utilises Ilse DeLange’s vocal nuances to provide a neat counterpoint to TheBossHoss’s version.
Behind the second verse, the track builds, harnessing synth, and ambient textures and generally giving us a more muscular interpretation of the groove. Eventually, this leads us to the thoroughly expected but nonetheless effective chorus. Layered, lush and tempting us with a simplistic hook that pairs well with the chord progression.
It is during the chorus where the dance elements seem more pronounced, giving the track its differentiating edge. Another verse follows, which soon leads to the second chorus, whose segue into a bridge section is smooth and natural and an extension of the chorus hook. Following a series of pauses and breaks, we’re back into chorus land until the song closes.
YOU is neither overtly country-rock nor overtly dance-rock but straddles a line between all those and, of course, pop. It is ostensibly a pop tune with a slight country-like twang that sounds more like it’s related to the performances rather than the song’s melodic modelling.
You can hear this track on Spotify or Apple Music
