The Boy Detective has become one of my favorite bands over the past year. I first checked them out last September after hearing that they were playing with Five Iron Frenzy in Chicago. I listened to their music in preparation for the show. Their releases at that time took a while to resonate with me, but seeing them live made it click. Their live energy is absolutely crazy, with Benny, the lead singer, performing nearly the entire show from the crowd, dancing alongside audience members. I’ve been hooked since that show, and now they’re one of my favorite bands.

Disco Lunch is their first album of fully original material since that show. It comes off the back of five singles released from October to March, which are all fantastic, especially “For The Record, I’m Not A Cannibal Anymore”. The album was officially revealed on August 15th, 2025, and kept up the pattern of incredible singles with “Beth Truss.” “Beth Truss” is maybe the best song on that album in terms of showing off The Boy Detective’s incredible horn work and catchy sing-along choruses, which the whole album follows suit on, making it a great choice for lead single.

The full album begins with the track “Theme Song for an Ida Garage,” referencing the band’s hometown. The song starts as somewhat of a homage to Madness’s classic, “One Step Beyond,” as they share an echoey voice to intro the song and a similar danceable ska groove. It eventually transitions into the other half of The Boy Detective’s sound, skacore. The Boy Detective have nearly perfected the heavier sound of skacore, as shown by their skacore songs, and this song continues the trend. “Ida Garage” as a whole feels very similar to “Replacement” from their previous release Exhibition, with a catchy start and a skacore outro that melts your face off.

This heavier sound continues into “Haunted House,” which may be my favorite song of the whole release. The guitars and horns complement each other perfectly on the song, with Benny and Nic’s vocals tying the whole thing together. “Hatchet (Not The One By Gary Paulsen)” is another song that leans more into the skacore side of their sound on the album. It follows The Boy Detective’s trend of having songs dedicated to just absolutely hating someone. You can feel this anger and hatred in the horns, intense guitars, and Benny’s incredible screaming vocals. In this way, the song serves as a great showcase of the band, with every member getting a chance to show off their talents on the skacore sound.

“The only hatchet I want to bury is one in your back

You reap what you sow and you deserve every “Fuck you!””

“Hatchet (Not The One By Gary Paulsen)” – The Boy Detective

The other song on the album that follows in the theme of anger and hate is “TANGC”, which stands for There Are No Good Cops. The song’s first verse covers a cop who is abusive in both his homelife and his worklife. This shows cops as bad people in their entire life, not just at work. The second verse contrasts this by saying things you can do in your day-to-day life as a citizen that are more productive than the cops. The Boy Detective doesn’t hide their leftist views, which is made clear after “Unrealized Gains,” a song directly calling out people who sacrifice others’ wellbeing for their own personal gains and ruin the future of the youth. The worry for the future that is present in that song stems from the two leaders of the band, Benny and Nic, who are both fathers. This worry comes through in a lot of the lyrics of the whole album.

The theme most present on Disco Lunch is fatherhood, which is most apparent in the songs “2 Dad 2 Worse,” a re-recording of an old song from The Boy Detective’s first EP, Dorkus Malorkus, and “What Are You, The Shoe Police?”, which is the final track of the album. Both go over different struggles of fatherhood, with “2 Dad 2 Worse” covering finding value in taking care of their children and growing up rather than going out partying, and “The Shoe Police” being about trying to raise your children the best you can. “The Shoe Police” is overall a highlight of the album due to the raw emotions felt in the song. The second half of the song is one of the best expressions of pride I’ve ever heard in music. The pride in how their children are turning out is felt entirely through the music and lyrics.

“When I say that I love you, it means without end

No matter who you grow up to be

Even if you’re a cop or an influencer

I will love you endlessly”

“What Are You, The Shoe Police?” – The Boy Detective

The tracks “Beth Truss,” “Good Year,” and “The Buckley Smile” are all solid tracks that feature fantastic horn sections and catchy sing-along moments. The songs all move fast, despite the latter two being two of the longer songs on the album. Each feature horn lines that show off the talents of the band very well. I’ve kept these songs on repeat solely for how addictive it is to hear their horns play on them. Horns aren’t the only highlight of these songs, the drumming in all of these tracks also gets a great chance to show off. The drummer is going wild on every song, both of these bunch and of the whole album, and holds all of the songs together fantastically.

The fun dance energy of the album is most present in “Beth Truss,” “2 Dad 2 Worse,” and “American Farts.” The whole album is clearly made to breathe even more life into their already incredible live performances. “American Farts” has already been present in many of their recent setlists, and it’s easy to see why. It’s one of the shortest on the album, but also one of the highest-energy songs. The songs mentioned above, alongside “Theme Song for an Ida Garage,” are all perfect for dancing in a crowd and certainly earn the album’s title Disco.

My few complaints with this album lie with the re-recording of “2 Dad 2 Worse,” as I’d prefer another fully original song to go with the music, as well as “The Buckley Smile,” which feels too slow in comparison to the rest of the tracks. “The Shoe Police” is also slow, but its personal meaning is well suited to the different pace. The rest of the album holds together strongly, however, rendering these reservations minor.

I’ve felt for a long time that The Boy Detective is going to grow into one of the biggest bands in the scene, and Disco Lunch has supported that feeling. The incredible instrumental work at play, the personal lyrics, and the danceability of the whole album come together to make a near perfect ska release that is in the running for my album of the year. The band has truly perfected their sound and I am very excited to see where they go from here. Disco Lunch is one to check out for any fan of ska or punk; the runtime flies by with the amazing and fun energy The Boy Detective provides throughout.