I originally bought this album on a whim after hearing about 30 seconds of 'Chasing a Bee' (from the previous record) on MTV's Alternative Nation back in the 90s. It was enough to convince me that I wanted to hear more by this band, and when I saw 'Boces' going cheap in a record shop, even though the song I remembered wasn't on the album, it didn't stop me from giving it a chance.
Unfortunately, my initial impression of 'Boces' was not favourable, I found it too chaotic and meandering. I was no stranger to music like this, but I just didn't "get" it. I played it only a couple of times and kicked myself for wasting money on it.
Fast forward a year or so later, a friend played and let me borrow the first disc 'Yer Self is Steam', where I instantly recognised the aforementioned Rev song that piqued my interest in the band (this is the same friend who got me into Suicide and MBV). This compelled me to give 'Boces' another chance, at which point, the music I'd previously dismissed now made sense. Though not as noisy as the debut, 'Boces' presented another dimension to the band, and within the wider context of the preceding album, it now made sense; especially high. ;)
At this point, 'Boces' had grown on me, and all the things I initially disliked about the album were the things I found most charming about it. I liked it's irreverence, its looseness, the fact that it sounds like the whole thing could fall apart at any minute, but doesn't, and I liked that they sounded like a bunch of strung out acid casualties who tripped so hard they started thinking they were musicians. It was also my second time hearing Dave Fridmann's production work (my first time coming via Rev's sister band Flaming Lips). Even before the album had started to grow on me, I admired the depth and clarity of its production.
So, that summer 'Boces' got played to death. It also coincided with when I started making my own music, and its idiosyncratic nature helped inform my early lo-fi, 4-track based recordings. Even now, hearing this album reminds me of that summer of burgeoning home grown musical experiments, PlayStation RPGs and sunshine, and I cannot help but smile.
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