The Boy Least Likely To - The First Snowflake

(Muso's Guide, December 23, 2008)

Single review

Every so often there comes along a perfectly-formed ditty to which nothing could be added ‐ even if the artist had a decade to work on it with masterclasses from Lennon, McCartney and Garfunkel.

Let it be known that this is pretty darned close to the zenith of pop, and The Boy Least Likely To have exceeded all expectations.

‘The First Snowflake’ is the latest venture into swooning pop glory by English duo The Boy Least Likely To, and it skilfully ticks all of those ‘masterpiece’ boxes.

Opening with the tender strumming of Pete Hobbs’ acoustic guitar, ‘The First Snowflake’ is a lyrical narrative about the titular premier precipitation.

It’s a lonely life for the flake: “No one noticed as it fell all by itself ‐ it wasn’t long before it began to melt” sings Jof Owen, with all the emotion of a great lost love song.

The video is a treat indeed. The duo survey a coastal scene, then make their odyssey to find snow in the Scottish lakes. As the drums begin to build and charming Christmas bells start to jungle, the pair pause with a Thermos for sustenance then lay on, into the snow-capped mountains. Once there, they take refuge in an abandoned hut by a log fire, all the while soundtracked by the tale of the little snowflake that could: “Snow kept falling, but no two snowflakes are ever the same ‐ each one is special in its own little way”.

Is it too obvious to say the boy most likely to…?