Boy Kill Boy: Brit-rockers Similar to the Killers, Depeche Mode

The band's name was a mistake. Their music is not. Stemming from a conversation overheard outside a bar in East London, vocalist Chris Peck thought he heard someone say "Boy Kill Boy" rather than the correct "Boy named Roy." The name stuck "because of its combination of innocence and darkness."

Fortunately, the band has been much more calculated and careful with their musical approach. After failing in a previous band to make the "spacy, silly" music known as Brit-pop, Peck turned a new direction and refused to make music for awhile. He refers to that period of his life as a dark one, saying, "I was stripped naked of my passion, I didn't have any outlet for what I was used to. Going up onstage and screaming and shouting is the best therapy in the world, when you're not doing that you're lost."

But when music is your passion and calling, you can't stay away from it for too long. Soon Boy Kill Boy was formed with a new delivery marked by the overstated vocals, punchy riffs and static percussion made famous by bands like The Killers. It wasn't long until the band was finding themselves performing on The Top of the Pops on the BBC and releasing their stateside debut, Civilian.

Civilian is definitely indie rock for the dance floor. Tracks like "Suzie" and "On My Own" are derivatives of The Killers, She Wants Revenge or The Editors. Other songs like "Ivy Parker" allow the band to spread their wings a bit and soar into more melodic balladry. Peck sings with a slight vocal nod to Matthew Bellamy of Muse, but stays enough in his own territory to keep the comparisons to a minimum.

Boy Kill Boy doesn't deliver anything extraordinary here or even original for that matter. But it does well what it sets out to. Civilian is a solid debut throughout and will find an audience of fans of the genre.