This debut album from Boy is Fiction is also the first release from List Records out of the UK. Boy is Fiction is a electronic/ambient project from a fellow named Alex out of Melbourne, Australia. While the music on this album is clearly electronic, its wide use of more traditional instruments lends it an underlying organic feel and in many ways compares to the instrumental portions of Massive Attack.

Boy is Fiction incorporates keyboards, guitars, samplers, drum machines, and synths on his debut. The music itself is a steady mix of conventional versus less conventional instruments and harsh versus more mellow sounds. Usually, the base of the song relies on keyboard, synth, guitar and drum machines and other jarring, glitch-like electronic samples bounce around in the foreground. Most of the songs feel almost like remixes because of this, as if the electronic parts are a reinterpretation of or addition to the music underneath.

?Say Ah? is one of the nicest tracks on the disc, as it fully utilizes the juxtaposition between all of the musical and instrumental elements at work. A gentle piano riff plays in the background while echoed, distorted guitar chords play off to one side. Finally, the whole song is topped off by fast, pounding bass drum sounds. The overall effect is impressive, as the song builds to bass filled climax and slowly fades back. Another impressive moment comes in ?The Bits in the Numbers? as a snare drum sound does its cadence alongside the usual keyboard and guitar.

Boy is Fiction?s debut is overall a pretty satisfying album with its variety of sounds, but it still could have used a few more amped-up moments to shake things up a bit. Regardless, it is a promising and intriguing start for both Boy is Fiction and List Records. 7/10 -- Matt Blackall (11 September, 2007)