Think of Boss Keloid, and clever, carefully crafted sludgy music comes to mind. Entertaining for sure. I remember spending a brief couple of moments in their company at 2021’s Damnation Festival, interviewing them in the bowels of Leeds University, having frustratingly missed their set due to another interview.
Boss Keloid – Float & Aperture
Release Date: 23 October 2026
Words: Paul Hutchings
They had released Family The Smiling Thrush a few months before, an album that was epic in many ways and one that rightly featured in many end-of-year lists. It is time to revisit that soon too.
Another band I lost sight of in the continued flood of new music, their sixth album reminds me why Boss Keloid were on the playlist for much of 2021.
Now much more progressive rock than sludge, although they retain some of those mucky elements, Float & Aperture is expansive, creative, and blends genres to the extent it is almost impossible to add labels. Just the way it should be.
Their sound remains familiar. Even after years without hearing them, the crunch on Pedestal brings their tone flooding back. Gentle enough to interest those with the lighter aural palate, but with enough bite to interest fans of a heavier persuasion, the seven tracks on offer allow you to explore and indulge.
There are parts where this is almost a jazz breakdown. There are moments on Pedestal, the nine-minute-plus sonic highways of Landslide and Weight, where you wonder if this could be just a magnificent jam session that just happened to be recorded. Such is the organic nature of how Boss Keloid express themselves in their music.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Float & Aperture is that it is both a warm old friend and an interesting new acquaintance. There is something here to capture the interest of all.
And then there are the emotions which are carved in the lyrical content. Alex Hurst weaves the intensity into songs that draw on personal experience, life challenges and situational outcomes. Whilst we all know these moments, to draw them into the intricate webs that Boss Keloid spin is impressive.
“The lyrics to Pedestal explore both the positive and negative sides of isolation, as well as its causes and effects,” Hurst says. “The song also contains a 10-year-old riff from the Keloid archive we finally found a way to use properly.”
Hurst’s delivery ranges from the gruff Neil Fallon to the higher and more melodic Eddie Veder style. His span is wide, and he gives it everything.
Behind this cracking album is a change in the band’s approach to writing. Opening with a more collaborative approach has worked magnificently.
Just take a listen to the closing song, Sanguine. It is full of character and represents the latest in the band’s 15-year-plus career. “We wanted to challenge ourselves and each other more than ever during the writing process for this album and developed a completely new way of working together as a result,” xxx says.
“Our writing process was more collaborative, experimental, and challenging than ever. We encouraged each other to tap into our musical and personal influences, as well as life experiences, to generate ideas.
“We wanted more focus and enjoyment around the interplay and dynamics between melody and rhythm, and a better clarity and balance between our instruments and parts. We couldn’t be happier with the result and believe this is our strongest work to date.”
Deeply personal, yet openly accessible, this is an album that will keep giving for months to come. “Embracing life, rolling with the punches and the waves of beauty, and not being afraid to channel and express those experiences through art, music, love, anger and wisdom. Experience tells a story if you don’t mind sharing it.”
Alongside Hurst, Ste Arands, Paul Swarbrick and Liam Pendlebury-Green have created one of the most enjoyable and immersive albums of 2026.
Clearly and rightly proud of their work, Boss Keloid may well have brought their best yet. With Church Road Records on their side, this is one brilliant piece of work.
Boss Keloid release Float & Aperture on 23 October 2026. For more details, visit Church Road Records here.
