Boys Like Girls here on Oct. 3

MANILA, Philippines - Boys Like Girls (photo) didn’t have to look far for inspiration when it came time to record Love Drunk, the follow-up to their self-titled Columbia Records debut. After spending three years on the road in support of Boys like Girls which has sold more than 700,000 copies to date in the US and spawned Top 40 radio hit The Great Escape, the four friends from Boston knew how much they had progress as a band, and they credit a lot of that growth to fans.

So Boys Like Girls did what they do best, embracing the same dynamic in the studio that has become a trademark of their live shows. In this day and age where technology rules and albums can be recorded with the press of a button and the loop of a sample, Johnson, guitarist Paul DiGiovanni, bassist Brian Donahue and drummer John Keefe wanted to capture the essense as a band, making spontaneity more important than pristine overprocessing.

It’s the mindset that rules their live show, and it’s the mindset that would shape Love Drunk.

Love Drunk, the band’s anthemic lead single and title track, is a celebration of love’s intoxicating effects. Heart Heart Hearbreak ramps the arena-ready sound up another notch. Contagious follows suit with a penetrating bottom-end and rich vocal harmonies, further elevating Boys Like Girls to infectious new heights.

A string section helps set the tone for the ballad Two Is Better Than One (featuring Taylor Smith). The more mid-tempo The First One is an endearing take on bouncing back from a broken heart.

Love Drunk is out in CDs from Sony Music. Boys Like Girls will return to Manila on Oct. 3 for a show at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds. Tickets are priced at P3,500 for VIP, P2,200 for Gold, P1,200 for Silver and P400 for Bronze, plus three percent service charge. For details, call 891-9999.