Boy Scouts - “A Lot to Ask”

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 5

Pairs Well With…Waxahatchee, Soccer Mommy, Lucy Dacus

Boy Scouts’ songwriting growth continues with Taylor Vick’s Wayfinder, the Oakland based artist’s fourth full-length and one that lushly expands a bedroom folk backbone with arms of melancholy grunge (“I Get High”), alt country (That’s Life Honey”), and Cali breezes (“A Lot to Ask”) . While overall Wayfinder is a collection of sad songs, the depth of sound embodies something more, not quite hopeful, but not fully ceding either. It’s a beautiful and rewarding record, one that tugs at the heart and mind equally, Boy Scouts’ most entrancing work yet. (Kevin McStravick)

2020 Review: Boy Scouts followed up on her relatively minimal sound in 2019 with Free Company, her third and strongest record, now filling out her music with Laurel Canyon breezes and cinematic haze. There’s still senses of bedroom/garage rock in tracks like “Expiration Date” and psychedelic pop number “Hate Ya 2”, but mostly Free Company embraces the prettier sides of the San Francisco artist’s songwriting.

2019 Review: Quiet and internal, Boy Scouts (San Francisco singer-songwriter Taylor Vick) resonates in its loose take on indie/garage pop. Minimal like a folk musician, Boy Scouts reflects 50s/60s classic melodies and paints them with melancholic seriousness. She’s a bedroom pop artist in her songwriting and performance, keeping personality and subtle charm within the softened haze of her music.