The Format’s Boycott Heaven brings together several eras and styles of rock. There’s the theatricality of Queen, the melodic power pop of Weezer, the classic pop-rock instincts of Paul McCartney and Wings, and the glam-rock swagger of The Killers and The Darkness. The Format take those influences in some unexpected directions, though, and that’s where the fun begins.
Almost every song is an adventure. They might start with a guitar and vocal, build into a huge rock anthem, and then veer somewhere you never expected. The arrangements rarely follow the usual verse, chorus, bridge, repeat formula. Just when you think you know where a song is going, it changes gears. Sometimes it’s a shift in dynamics; other times, it feels like the band has decided to take an entirely different route through the song.
“No Gold at the Top” sets the tone with a hazy, psychedelic opening that gradually transforms into a glam-rock anthem. The drums kick in, the vocals pile up, and the whole thing takes off. Beneath that exhilarating rush is a warning about spending too much time pursuing ambition.
The Queen influence is impossible to miss on “Holy Roller.” A measured opening gives way to enormous vocals and a wonderfully theatrical rock arrangement. The song challenges someone looking for answers through faith, perhaps while judging how other people live.
“Shot in the Dark” leans into melodic power pop, with bright instrumentation and an energetic vocal. There’s a reflective quality to the lyrics, too, as the narrator looks back at the people and experiences that helped shape his life, recognizing how much has changed.
Starting out more intimately, “Forever” has a guitar-led melody that opens up when the harmonies arrive. The voices joining together give the arrangement a sense of grandeur. It also feels like a mature love song about people who have a history together and understand that the future isn’t guaranteed.
“Depressed” takes a grungier approach, starting with a relatively spare vocal and synth texture before launching into heavier rock. Nate Ruess’s voice is remarkable here, soaring into almost impossibly high registers. Then the song suddenly drops into a passage with an almost bossa nova feel before the rock comes roaring back. It’s a bizarre detour, but that’s precisely what makes it so much fun.
Closer to conventional alternative rock, “No You Don’t” has a bit of a Weezer vibe. The restrained verses give way to an explosive chorus, and Ruess rides the rising music with his voice. The lyrics suggest the painful realization that someone doesn’t love you as much as they claim to.
“Right Where I Belong” offers a welcome change of pace. With its country-tinged sound and restrained arrangement, it gives the album room to breathe. The harmonies make it feel almost like two people singing to each other, while the lyrics reflect on getting older, understanding where life has taken you, and recognizing who you want beside you for whatever comes next.
Sweeping rock theatrics return with “Human Nature,” which builds through changes in tone and tempo toward a dramatic finish. It reminds you that The Format received their degree from The University of Queen.
There’s a darker emotional edge here, with the lyrics suggesting a relationship coming apart while also leaving room for broader questions about human behavior and the damage people can do to one another.
Echoey and psychedelic, “Leave It All Alone Till the Morning” heads in a different direction, with a heavy guitar riff and drums that seem to tumble around the arrangement. The more restrained vocals let the atmosphere take over.
It’s also one of the album’s most overtly political songs, expressing the frustration of watching terrible things happen in the world while seemingly being confronted with apathy.
The title track, “Boycott Heaven,” brings the album’s disillusionment into sharper focus. The song moves between restrained passages and forceful rock before arriving at an almost choral conclusion. Its religious imagery feels central to the song, questioning the promises people cling to and the idea that some great reward awaits beyond this life. But the song isn’t simply dismissing faith. It asks what we’re doing all this for, and whether the things we’re promised are worth the cost.
The album ends with “Back to Life,” a 70s-style pop-rock song that brings Elton John to mind. It begins like a piano ballad, opens up into bigger vocal passages, and makes room for an instrumental break. The lyrics suggest someone trying to recover from wounds inflicted both by themselves and by the world around them.
After all the uncertainty and disappointment elsewhere on the album, the idea of getting back up and starting again feels like a fitting place to end.
One of the things I love about Boycott Heaven is the drumming. Matt Chamberlain brings so much energy to these songs, helping drive the sudden changes and giving the bigger moments their impact.
Ruess is equally impressive. His voice can move from a conversational delivery to those soaring, almost impossibly high notes, and the layered vocals add another dimension to the arrangements. The guitars move between rock, glam, power pop, and psychedelia without losing the melodies at the center of it all.
These songs wrestle with ambition, love, aging, family, faith, and political disillusionment. They question the things we’re told to chase and the beliefs that are supposed to give our lives meaning.
Yet Boycott Heaven doesn’t leave me with a sense of nihilism. It feels more like it is trying to say that if there’s no guaranteed reward and no easy answers, perhaps what we should put our faith in is the people we love, the good we can do, and the drive to keep moving forward.
For all its disillusionment, the album ultimately leaves room for the possibility that life is still worth getting up for.
Verdict: Solid
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