With debut single Teen Rebel, The Haunted Youth quickly became a dream pop phenomenon in Belgium and beyond, with hazy indie textures and melancholic charm winning hearts across the globe. Dawn of the Freak was named album of the week in Rolling Stone France and single Gone single of the year by Studio Brussel in 2022. The band toured relentlessly behind the record, hitting Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, Lowlands, Sziget and Iceland Airwaves, and picking up international airplay along the way.
Now there’s Boys Cry Too, Liebens’ second album. From the towering eight-minute opener in my head (a song that ends with Liebens screaming himself raw amidst howls of feedback), to the final, haunted strum of ghost girl, Boys Cry Too presents a viscerally powerful journey through loss, despair, heartache, rage and hope. It’s a record fuelled by emotional turmoil – see deathwish‘s self-destructive roar or the defiant punk rock crunch of forget me – but one that also reveals a naked vulnerability, reflected in the crystalline beauty of emo song and hurt, and the emotionally raw confessions within Liebens’ lyrics.
