The Format - Boycott Heaven [Cream]

Twenty years after Dog Problems, The Format return with Boycott Heaven, pressed here on cream vinyl in a gatefold jacket, and it sounds like Nate Ruess and Sam Means never really left.

The Arizona duo went on hiatus in 2008, and Ruess found huge success with his next band, fun., before a surprise reunion show in 2020 rekindled the partnership. What began as Ruess sketching a solo record with his old bandmate turned into the third Format album, written in bursts in Santa Barbara and a Phoenix warehouse before landing in 2026.

Brendan O'Brien produced the record and plays bass on it, with Matt Chamberlain behind the kit, and the pair give these songs a muscular, live-in-the-room punch. The lyrics turn over faith, parenthood and long-haul relationships with the same wit and theatrical flair that made the band a cult favourite. Singles "Holy Roller", "Shot in the Dark" and the title track show the range, while "Right Where I Belong" lands somewhere warmer and more settled.

Ruess's voice remains a marvel, elastic and unashamedly dramatic, and Means' melodic instincts keep the hooks coming without tipping into excess.

For anyone who wore out Interventions + Lullabies, this is a reunion well worth celebrating, and the cream gatefold makes a handsome companion on the shelf.