From recording demos in college dorm rooms to playing basement shows and recently finishing a tour across the United States, it’s safe to say Boyscott deserves to be crowned as indie rock’s hidden gem. The band’s main members are Scott Hermo Jr., the lead vocalist and guitarist; Emma Willer, guitarist and vocalist; Davey Alaimo, the bassist and Noah Dardaris on drums.

The band first self-released their debut album, “Goose Bumps,” in November 2015. They signed with a new record label in 2019 and re-released the album that year. Boyscott returned with their sophomore record, “Spellbound,” in October 2024. The album marks a significant stepping stone for the band both sonically and as musicians. 

Despite the intensity of their fall 2024 tour, “six weeks of being on the road, driving anywhere from three to eight hours a day,” the band loved every moment of that experience.

“We played with so many great bands on that tour. It was super rewarding to meet people who were excited about the new album, or excited about the old album and were interested to dig into the new one. We love touring and it was definitely the best one we’ve ever done.” 

Hermo’s passion for making music started in middle school, inspired by the bands and artists he loved growing up. 

“I thought it’d be fun to try and mess around with music on my own,” Hermo said. “I still, to this day, love it and it’s just what I enjoy spending my time doing. There’s some chemical thing in my brain and my bandmates’ brains, and we’re just like, this is what we enjoy doing. We like going into a basement and making music.” 

Any indie rock or other subgenre music lover will tell you that basement shows are a rite of passage and that it is imperative to support your local music scene. It is in these spaces where raw, unfiltered music finds its audience. 

Hermo recalls a defining moment that would solidify his love for the “Do It Yourself” (DIY) scene. 

“When I was in high school, I saw Pinegrove play this tiny basement show in my town. It was on a dirt floor, it was super sweaty, and kind of gross — but it was the greatest show I’d ever been to in my entire life.”

His friend, however “thought it was the worst show he’d ever been to.”

This difference made Hermo realize his relationship to music was personal.

“Not everyone feels this way. Maybe this is something unique. In those spaces, you’re suddenly part of a community; you feel a sense of belonging, because you’re here for this thing. We all like this thing,” he said.

Hermo attended Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. where he met the people who would become his future band members; they would eventually turn a couple of casual tunes on GarageBand into a full-length album, unaware of what future awaited them musically.

“Goose Bumps” is a prime example. Hermo shared how he began producing the album without realizing it. It wasn’t able to come to fruition until he collaborated with people he met in Memphis, [Tenn.] “who were really wonderful musicians who gave me the confidence to actually do something with these songs and to record it.”

Boyscott has had a rotating lineup of musicians throughout its nine years. However, most of the members — both past and present — came from other bands, namely Willer (Lazy Trail), John Lewandowski (Bunny Boy) and Dardaris (Another Michael and Shallow Alcove). 

“Everyone comes from their own bands, and then we do this thing as well. And it’s so inspiring. Because I look up to each of those people for what they’ve done in their other projects. They’ve each added so much and helped improve the songs.” 

With nine years in between projects, Hermo reflected on his experiences with “Goose Bumps,” particularly how his relationship with the record has changed and shaped “Spellbound.” 

“It’s been a bumpy road with that album since the beginning. I had been writing the songs on that album since I was in high school, and then it was when I was in college when we finally finished the songs and put them out. And then suddenly, we were the band that all the venues would hit up to be the opening act for the slightly bigger bands coming through,” he said. 

“I just felt so self-conscious. As years went on, I started trying to make a record that would be ‘accepted’ in a certain way, in this scene. And then, after five years, I realized that I actually do like what we set out to make. I wasn’t able to finish ‘Spellbound’ until I realized that we created this album [‘Goose Bumps’] that people do like and we like.” 

Boyscott remains low-key enough to still be considered indie, as they possess the qualities of an independent band and embody the true spirit of indie rock. They gained a cult-like following from their 2015 debut and have only grown since, raking in over 400,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Still, Boyscott is faithful to its principles.

“We’re still a DIY band. We are kind of at this point now where we’re like it would be helpful would to bring some other people into the management side of things and help us grow futher. But we’re also kind of like, ‘I don’t know if that’s even something we want to do.’[…] We’re always going to be a smaller thing. No matter what route we go, it’s always gonna be a chill thing.”

Hermo emphasized the band’s focus on music and not being held on a corporate-run agenda.

“I think it is kind of a sacred thing to have your music be found in an organic way. There’s something special about how people have found our band and then they come to our shows and they feel it’s this special thing that all of us have this secret thing.”

With nine years of experience, there is no doubt that “Spellbound” reflects that time. Even now, months after its release, it holds a timely feel. Compared to “Goose Bumps,” it has a more mature sound. According to Hermo, the album was made in a dorm room, and that’s what it sounds like: the perfect soundtrack to collegiate life. 

“‘Spellbound’ is a little less gritty and raw and more peaceful,” said Hermo.

He shared how when he first “mixed the record  [‘Goose Bumps], and I had no idea what I was doing. I just thought, oh, that sounds cool. This is probably fine. The drums are probably loud enough here. I didn’t know anything about compression or [equalization (EQ)] at all, or just anything. I still kind of don’t but that’s so wonderful with that.”

This experimentation makes not for more creative output, but it also marks the band’s evolution.

He attributed their inexperience to making “Goose Bumps” so unique. As for “Spellbound,” “we’re technically missing that because it’s way more polished. But it is funny to hear our band in that format. The coolest stuff is done in a way that isn’t the textbook way. Our songs that people really speak to are just the ones that are literally recorded without a metronome, that are out of time and sloppy.”

Boyscott is known for the various interpretations of their songs during live performances. They adjust the tempo, dynamics and atmosphere of the room they are performing in to gauge audience preferences. If you want to hear the exact version of the song as it was recorded, go pop in a CD or open Spotify; live shows offer a chance to experience something new and explore how much you can experiment with a song. 

“Since we started the band, we’ve always just kind of played the songs somewhat differently than the recorded version. We do little fun things and try to make the songs sound better or more aligned with who we are now as people. It makes for a more unique experience, too. It’s absolutely incredible that you can change so many things and it’s still the same song.” 

Being a tour-heavy band for so long, the experiences on tour manifested themselves into “Spellbound.”

“We have become way more confident in our instruments and of ourselves in general,” Hermo said. “And all of that helped with ‘Spellbound’ significantly, especially because we were kind of playing some of those new songs live, seeing what works. When you change up the dynamics and change up the arrangements just to experiment with the song before locking it in, it really helped me with eventually writing, finishing the new album and seeing what works.”

One of Boyscott’s favorite songs to play live is “Moose Head” from their latest album. It is easily one of the most tender songs; with lyrics like “And she held my hands at the farmers market,” how can you not love it? 

The instrumentation is amazingly orchestrated; there is so much going on, yet this eruptious cacophony falls in a natural, perfect place. Boyscott’s instrumentation and production are truly like no other, as showcased on this track. 

He shared an anecdote about how “Moose Head” could have never come out.

“We almost didn’t record that one on ‘Spellbound’ because I was so frustrated with it. And then what happened was Scoops, our producer engineer, ended up going on the bass, and then I was on guitar and drums and [Willer] was on keys. And Scoops did this walk-up line on the bass and I thought, we’re recording that song now because of that genius walk-up line.”

A poignant moment in “Spellbound” is its penultimate song, “Fell.” What makes this song so fascinating is that the production isn’t mushed together; when listening, one can almost identify each specific instrument. 

“Technically, it’s pretty hectic. Instrumentally, there’s a lot going on. But there’s space there,” Hermo said. “We were actually a little nervous about that one, because there are four guitars and then keys over it — and many synths because we couldn’t choose what we wanted.”

Every musician’s song production process is different. Hermo starts out with the music first. He experiments with chord progressions, melodies and rhythms, then writes lyrics to match the structure and mood. 

“I end up making the sound first. A lot of it is coming up with the chord progression and then a riff, whether I feel something from that. Whether that sound sticks out to me. And then, in order to come up with a melody, I mess around with the guitar and come up with a ton of different melodies, per se, with more riffs and then lyrics usually come afterwards.”

The new album starts out with the lyrics, “There’s comfort in howling aloud / It drowns the mountains of doubt” from the first track, “Rocky Road.” What a hopeful way to kick off an amazing album and get it stuck in your head. The song reflects on Boyscott’s experiences with going on tour for the first time. 

“That song [‘Rocky Road’] is about being really nervous, and also being like … this is what I’m doing. I’m not trying to get another job or anything. I’m just trying to make music and tour. And it was a scary thing to kind of say that I’m doing this thing.” 

With “Spellbound” out for almost six months, Hermo discussed what is next for the band, with college shows planned for the spring and also continuing their tour for the rest of the year.

Boyscott has no intention of slowing down, “I just love making records,” said Hermo.

He anticipates an album sooner than later, “a third record, or maybe like an [extended play]. I have been getting into more synth-heavy songs. So they would still be within our realm of what we make, but I’ve been having fun making weird, almost film score kind of synth music lately. So we’ll see. But, I’m hoping to potentially make something that will go a little further in the directions we’ve been going.”

Boyscott will perform at the Cassette music venue in Ridgewood, N.Y., on April 11. While you wait, give “Spellbound” a listen.