U.K. duo
the Boy Least Likely To was one of the freshest and most exciting indie pop groups to surface in the mid-decade. The group is made up of singer/lyricist
Jof Owen and
Pete Hobbs.
Owen writes the words and sings them;
Hobbs writes the music and plays it. Formed in the English countryside (specifically Wendover),
the Boy Least Likely To is influenced by country storytellers like
Marty Robbins, C-86 indie pop groups like
the Pastels and
Television Personalities, and turn-of-the-century pop groups like
Belle & Sebastian and
Kenickie. They began releasing records on their own Too Young to Die label in 2003. The
Papercuts 7" was first; then came the incredibly good
Be Gentle with Me/Hugging My Grudge later in the year. The Fur Soft as Fur single followed in 2004 and the
Best Party Ever album (which contained many of the songs released as singles) was unleashed in February of 2005. The record garnered some good reviews and lots of attention from blogs, all of it well deserved. Live shows in the U.K. and Europe were undertaken to support the album, and the rest of 2005 saw re-releases of
Papercuts and
Hugging My Grudge on 7" and an iTunes U.K.-only release of Monsters.
The Best Party Ever was issued in America in early 2006 and the band toured the U.S., both as an opening act for
James Blunt and as a headliner. After a long delay, the duo's second album,
The Law of the Playground surfaced in spring of 2009. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide