Named after a rather odd anti-foreign uprising in China around 1900, The Boxer Rebellion are self-releasing this, their second album. Consequently, it can only be purchased on iTunes, putting it in a rather odd position. Unfortunately the band's position is further weakened by the fact that, for the most part, Union just isn't very likeable.The Boxer Rebellion are a guitar-based band, through and through - the trouble is that the guitar work here is rarely, if ever, appealing. Often surprisingly quiet in the mix, the guitars are hazy and often fail to create either effective atmospherics or decent riffs to get your teeth into. This half-baked feel gives the album a gloopy, viscous sound, which makes it an exhausting and sleepy experience. It's the kind of album where your attention wanes as each song goes on, and when the next one starts, its subtly different approach is barely enough to wake you from your stupor. There's just something inherently and curiously unsatisfying about Union's sound. Perhaps it's the queer off-kilter falsetto with nonsensical platitudes for lyrics, or the treacle-esque mess of much of the instrumentation, or the fact that instrumentally speaking only the drums can really be heard properly, but it's more likely a combination of all three. The Boxer Rebellion seem to want to be populist but also cool, and to make some musical contribution to understanding the human condition or something. In all these aims they fail, instead creating eleven songs worth of half-arsed, frustratingly mediocre slop. One of the best examples is 'Forces', with a chorus that goes "forces, dark forces are everywhere / they won't stop, they won't stop / 'til you're here" - it's a pale shadow of a proper rock song, a sketchy approximation of the intelligence and excitement the band are aiming at.However well-intentioned it is, the big neon nail in Union's coffin is how it just blends into one... it may not be as ill-fated as the band's namesake, but it's still not worth buying. 28%The Boxer Rebellion on MySpace