I last wrote about Bozmo after seeing their live show back in May. Their set was so fun and energetic that I was stoked to receive a copy of their full length, Hosanna in the Highest, which they are releasing on cassette. The band just played their record release show last night at O’Brien’s Pub in Boston, MA in support, and so hopefully that means more live shows on the horizon.

Almost all the songs on the album are very playful, with creative and clever lyrics over strong garage pop riffs. At first it seemed to me that all the songs had different perspectives, but now I’ve come to think of the album as having a strong theme with one narrator for all the songs, all communicated through Moore’s smirking and mischievous tone.

“Milksnakes” is the strong, catchy punk rock opener, perfectly showcasing the band’s fuzzed-out guitars and Moore’s witty observations. This goes into the equally catchy but more rollicking “Lonely Ghost,” followed by the endearing sonically bi-polar “Witchy Wu.” For “Maybe I’ll See You,” the blown out guitars get traded in for the acoustic variety with some clearer bluesy licks, but the lyrics are still an imaginative scenario of a rendezvous on Mars. At times it sounds romantic with the line, “Don’t you know that you mean more than anything on Earth to me,” it’s quickly contrasted with “I see I’ve failed to mention/I have the wrong intentions.”

“Kill the Beast” picks right back up, about a hero that kills a beast. This makes me think of The Odyssey, or one of those folktales/myths you read in school about one man who becomes a hero after saving his village and people from a terrorizing beast. I also picture the same middle school kid from “Milksnakes” with the mismatched shoes fantasizing about being a hero, continuing with the youthful themes that drive the album.

In “Birth of the You-Know-Who,” the middle school kid is now in college, and plays a cruel joke on his friend that also makes for a humorous mental image. The next track seems to be the short instrumental addendum to the psychedelic drug trip. “Little Bit” is the album closer, that shows our narrator having gathered some wisdom from his experiences thus far, and also feeling like the end of a film that leaves it open to a sequel.

All in all, the first half of the album is much stronger than the second, but maybe it’s also that after all those crazy adventures in the beginning it’s time to slow down anyway. Playing the album straight through almost ends up feeling like a cathartic storyline, full of the kind of songs that make you feel better, even if you’re feeling like a lonely ghost or like you’re in middle school for life with mismatched shoes. It’ll be ok, just listen to some Bozmo. I’ve got a strong feeling that we’ll continue to hear about these up and comers.

You can listen to and download Hosanna in the Highest on Bozmo’s Bandcamp, and keep up with the band on Facebook.