Bold Boy Redefines Indie Storytelling With the Unforgettable 'Any Time Or Any Place'
- STAFF
- Jul 10
- 4 min read
By: Staff
Wildly inventive, hypnotic, and utterly fresh—Bold Boy is creating a whole new sound worth obsessing over
With an absolutely fresh and magnetic sound, Bold Boy breaks all the rules in the best possible way. This Dublin-based duo is redefining the edges of indie and punk with a voice that’s both playful and emotionally raw. Their new EP, Any Time Or Any Place, is a visceral ride. It's one of those rare projects that doesn’t just pull you in but holds you hostage in the best way. Once you hit play, you’re not going anywhere. Bold Boy has that pull. The energy is contagious, the hooks are smart, and the chemistry between bandmates Mike Paterson and Nathan, is undeniable.
The opening track, “She Looked Me Up And Down,” immediately sets the tone. It starts with what might seem like throwaway thoughts, mundane, fleeting, but in Paterson’s hands, they become vivid, cinematic, almost surreal.
“I think a lot about Thursday / when I turned and saw you sitting there / you were next to your mother.”
On paper, it reads like a passing diary entry. But delivered through Paterson’s unmistakable cadence and emotional honesty, it blooms into a complete moment lived in real time. The instrumentation dances just beneath the vocals: lush guitars and Nathan’s expressive drum fills pull us into this unexpected love story. The details are oddly familiar and entirely original. You feel like you’re living someone else’s Saturday, and by the end, you want to stay in it.
As the song unravels, the narrative does too. They ditch mom, grab some soda, and that’s it. But somehow, it’s not. Somehow, you’re invested. The tension is gone, but the pull remains. And that’s the magic of this EP. Bold Boy finds meaning in the small things and turns them into anthems. Even the “ahhhh ooooohs” embed themselves like a memory you can’t shake. You're listening to almost nothing, and somehow it becomes everything.
Then comes “Northern Lights,” and the energy shifts. It’s grittier, fuzzier, louder. The guitars get messier and more deliberate. Paterson’s vocals grow bolder, pushing into this punk-laced haze that lands somewhere between the Ramones and existential spoken word. There’s this off-kilter poetry at play. Lines like:
“Some people drink urine / I know that this doesn’t have to do with this / where am I going / think this verse my own character uncharacteristically be a mess / OK, I’ll stop talking”
And this veer into absurdism, somehow circles back to emotional truth. It’s not linear. It doesn’t want to be. It works precisely because it doesn’t try too hard to make sense. It’s punk energy channeled through a neurodivergent lens. It's chaotic, clever, and controlled.
Look, you’re either along for the ride or you’re missing the point.
We closed our review with “Sanctuary,” a beautifully vulnerable shift in tone. It’s slower, stripped-back, and full of space to feel. Nathan’s drumming settles into a softer, textured rhythm while Paterson’s voice becomes a confessional. It’s a breakdown of love and loss (??) that hits like late-night honesty. The melody floats and then crashes. It’s a deliberate emotional rollercoaster that leaves you with more questions than answers. And that’s the point. Bold Boy doesn’t spoon-feed their listeners. They give you the fragments and let you put the puzzle together.
The production is part of the magic. Recorded at Fennor Lane Studios, the engineering by
Mark Carolan gives the entire EP this livewire, in-the-room texture. There’s polish, sure, but not too much. It still feels human, gritty, and immediate. Mike Paterson handled both production and mixing, which explains how naturally his vocal tone rides atop every track. It’s like he’s steering the ship from both behind and in front of the mic. Fergal Davis’s mastering is crisp but never sterilized. The tracks breathe, they buzz, and they move.
Bold Boy isn’t just another band with a quirky sound. They’re a new language being written in real time. Any Time Or Any Place doesn’t just hint at a new direction for indie music. It launches it. What we’re hearing isn’t just songs. It’s an experience, a manifesto, a headspace you fall into and don’t want to leave.
We’re not just listening. We’re hooked. And now it’s your turn.
'Any Time Or Any Place' by Bold Boy is a magnetic, genre-warping triumph of mood, melody, and mind.
Outside of the EP itself, Bold Boy is crafting something distinct and genuinely their own.
Mike Paterson brings lyrical transparency and offbeat vocal delivery that feel both intentional and intuitive. Nathan’s percussive instincts keep everything grounded with an inventive pulse. Together, they have built a style that resists formula and thrives in its unpredictability. They have also become known for their arresting visuals, taking a DIY approach to music videos that mirrors the candid, diary-like nature of their music. The duo doesn’t just play songs. They create immersive moments that blur the line between performance and conversation.
We're so excited to have found and can’t wait to hear more from the wildly original Bold Boy
