Boys Like Girls Return After 11 Years With “Blood and Sugar”
Photo Credit: Matty VogelThe pop rock band that defined a generation, Boys Like Girls, have finally returned after 11 years with the flawless single “Blood and Sugar”. The track is a raw portrayal of the experience of being human, exploring things that are bad for you despite knowing what the end result will be.
“Thematically the song is fairly simple, an empty calorie relationship that’s so delicious you don’t care. You’re willing to deal with the crash. It continues to beat you down yet you keep coming back for more pain…almost like you’ve learned to love it. Why this obsession? We’re only skin and bone. Humans. Just blood and sugar, really. I think everyone has an infatuation with something bad for them. Cigarettes. Sports gambling. Porn. Internet validation. Pills that change the way you feel. Buying too many shoes. I know I spend a lot of time trying to fill the empty hole where drugs used to be. I spend most of the time trying to fill that hole with “perfection.” But in the end…nobody’s perfect. Hey. we’re only blood and sugar, right?”
“Blood and Sugar” is just a taste of what's to come from Boys Like Girls. The band has already confirmed that they have been working on new music and will announce new releases soon. The band is also planning on hitting the road for a highly anticipated tour.
The comeback of the band has already sparked excitement for fans and the general public all around the world. This is showcased by the attention their first nostalgic TikTok received. It gained 500K views in just 24 hours.
If what they say is true - that there’s something dirty in the water of Boston Charles’ River - Boys Like Girls certainly drank it up. There are very few other ways to describe the band's rise after forming as teenagers in 2004. At the start of the band, they formed their music in basements, garages, and VFW Halls in Massachusetts coastlines. Based off of the half a billion streams they have on Spotify, these conditions worked out incredibly for them.
Boys Like Girls’ career has had mass success. Their self titled debut album Boys Like Girls (2006) is nearing Multi-Platinum RIAA certification and Love Drunk (2009) was #1 on Top Rock Albums and Top 10 on Billboard 200. They also have a few successful singles including the Platinum-certified hit that every emo/scene kid loved “The Great Escape” and “Love Drunk”, as well as Golf-certified hits “Hero/Heroine” and “Thunder”. They also have a Platinum-certified, award winning Hot 100 duet with the one and only, Taylor Swift, “Two Is Better Than One”. They’ve had sold out shows, international tours, and unforgettable moments from venues such as Madison Square Garden. However, by 2012 Johnson found the universe pulling him into a new arena.
Collaboration was nothing new to him, but for the first time he was writing and producing music that wasn’t for Boys Like Girls. He then found himself with wild successes with Ariana Grande, Blink-182, Avril Lavigne, Jason Derulo, Daughtry, Christina Perri, Gavin Degraw, Pentatonix, and many more. On top of this and the other members of the band having successful endeavors, the band went on a years-long hiatus.
In 2016 Boys Like Girls went on a reunion tour for the 10th anniversary of their debut record. While fans were excited about this tour, it internally felt more like a farewell.
“It was important to us to leave it all out there for the fans, to really give them the ‘thank you’ they deserved.”
In 2019 they planned another return to the road, this time in Australia and Asia. However, these plans were delayed due to all of the chaos in 2020. After finally being able to live up to the promise of returning in 2022, they played at When We Were Young Festival, which meant more than ever to not only the band, but to the fans as well.
It’s because of this that they signed over with Fearless/Concord Records and will be releasing new music for the first time in over 10 years. The band now works out of Johnson’s Nashville recording studio and has a newfound sense of creative freedom.
They ignited their new era with “Blood and Sugar”, their first single in over a decade. Throughout the track, neon synths wrap around the stomping guitar. With a swaggering bridge and howls straight to the heart, it’s classic Boys Like Girls but with more experience and wisdom.
“I think of it as a relationship with a bunch of empty calories. You’re talking about how human beings are just blood and sugar. You might fear this girl, but we’re all just skin and bones, so why can’t you move on? Sonically and dynamically, I hope it’s like getting shot out of a cannon ten times. It’s something we can’t wait to go out and play.”
