Boston’s Long Lost is a band that will fly under the radar of many outside the band’s respective music scene. The group formed as a side project started by Joe Boynton, vocalist for the rising pop-punk group Transit, and members of the Massachusetts hardcore band Aviator. The result is an indie pop sound that is familiar but welcoming, so long as the songwriting is up to snuff. Unfortunately for Long Lost, it’s the songwriting on their latest album, "Save Yourself, Start Again," where the group hits a snag.

Boynton’s primary musical endeavor, Transit, rocketed to relative stardom after the success of their 2011 album “Listen and Forgive.” The album was received well enough for many to hail Transit as the next big thing in punk, but 2013’s “Young New England” took the band in a new, unwelcome direction. Something sucked the life out of the band’s sound and replaced it with stale, lazy writing. “Young New England” would have been a mediocre release from another band, but from a heavyweight act like Transit, it was akin to career suicide. And a few verbal scuffles with members of the media who expressed distaste for the record only further hurt the band’s image.

Luckily for fans of the old Transit, the few tracks released ahead of Long Lost’s “Save Yourself, Start Again” showed incredible promise. It seemed that the logical explanation for the “Young New England” debacle was simply that Boynton’s efforts as a songwriter were being pulled towards Long Lost. It explained the surprising return to form shown by tracks like “Wild Hearts” and “You Can Always Come Home,” both released in the lead-up to the album’s debut. Transit fans crossed their fingers and hoped for the best.

The band hyped its sound by citing major indie-pop influences, but the results were mixed. At best, the tracks on “Save Yourself, Start Again” sound like decent Transit bonus tracks. At worst, they sound like more of the same.

On the tracks where Long Lost hits their mark, the band’s songwriting chops and musical pedigrees are unquestioned. Songs like the aforementioned “Wild Hearts” are complemented nicely by others that blend the easygoing, acoustic vibe that Long Lost wants to embrace with the big hooks and memorable lyrics that made Transit a success. Problems arise, however, when only about half of the ten tracks on “Save Yourself, Start Again” feel like they’re on target. The strength of the record’s best tracks cannot hold up the weight of its worst, leaving the entire album to suffer as a result.

Unfortunately, the rise and fall of Joe Boynton does not have a happy ending, at least not yet. “Save Yourself, Start Again” is an enjoyable listen, but aside from a few choice cuts, the record is forgettable and succumbs to the very same problems as “Young New England.” Combining the best tracks from each record could result in a decent album that would have been little more than a speed bump in an otherwise quality discography. Instead, we get the second of two releases that fail to live up to Boynton’s track record. The best advice for Boynton’s career going forward: save yourself, start again.

 

Standout Tracks:

“Wild Hearts”

“Old News”

“You Can Always Come Home”

 

Honorable Mention:

“Drive with Me”