Rough and righteous Rhode Island 5 piece, Downtown Boys have announced their return with a fierce new track, A Wall. Whilst their latest offering may not be as heavy as what we heard on the bulk of the their last album, Full Communism, A Wall still packs a punch both sonically and lyrically. Experimenting with new sounds/styles is important in maintaining/expanding your fanbase and the DB’s latest track journeys into poppier territory. Before shedding any more quasi-wisdom or sharing other obvious/self explanatory insight on how to maintain fans, let us dissect todays juice.
Downtown Boys’ lyrics and general demeanour has always been provocative to say the least. In the past the DB’s have been vociferous in their support of the LGBTQ community; expressed their discontent with Chicana inequality in the US and been uncompromising in their push for labour rights calling out a number of major festivals, hotels and other institutions. This passion as I’m sure you can imagine, shines (or burns) through their music. Today’s juice sees the Rhode Islanders turn their attention to the divisive structure that intends to seperate Central and North America. One of the defining features of the Downtown Boys is Lead singer Victoria Ruiz’s terse vocals. Ruiz’s voice sounds like audio ripped from a rally as she avidly points out that “ A Wall is just a Wall” in between driving bass lines and a mashy, out of control drum beat. It wouldn’t be right for me to leave out the sax that, in a way, grounds A Wall and seems to be playing more of a central role then it did on their last LP. Whilst the track list of their forthcoming album suggests the content within the songs will be as, if not more politically motivated, than what we have heard from DB, it will be interesting to see if this cleaner/poppier will resonate throughout the rest of the LP.
Downtown Boys forthcoming LP is due August 10 and is titled Cost of Living.