285. BOYS THESE DAYS by Sports Team

So about a month ago I speculated that this record may have been my most played of 2025. Well, as I'm writing this Apple Music just unleashed their "Replay" feature for subscribers (think "Spotify Wrapped" but for Apple Music). Turns out that Hurray for the Riff Raff album came in second, a mere 3 minutes of total play time behind Boys These Days, the 2025 record by English alt / indie rock band Sports Team (previously covered here).

I had a feeling that these two records were going to come in neck and neck as I somehow was drawn to this album again and again while my wife was in the hospital and after she died as I craved a more upbeat and less subdued listening experience to counteract the intense sadness that I had been and have been feeling for months and months.

If you happened to listen to 2022's Gulp!, throw out whatever you think you knew about this band because this record is completely different. Set your controls, not for the heart of the sun, but for the period of the late 70's and maybe early 80's - this is rock music you can dance to or dance music you can rock to. Start out with the groovy (literally and figuratively) 'Condensation' followed by 'Moving Together.' Continue with 'Sensible,' 'Head to Space' (which evokes feelings of a hyped up and whacked out Irish ditty) and finally take a breather with album closer 'Maybe When We're 30.' If the White Stripes' 'We're Going to be Friends' is a look back at the innocence of childhood then 'Maybe When We're 30' is a look forward to the "innocence" of middle age (I know, 30 is not middle age, just humor me).