The Rock & Roll Rumble continues to provide. They say it’s a place where you can find your new favorite band… or maybe your new favorite band finds you? And maybe they’re not even a part of The Rumble this year but seek you out because you covered a LOT of it… and holy hell is this a long, convoluted intro to tell you that The Downhauls is a band you need to have in your life.
But. I. Digress.
Their Bandcamp bio points out that The Downhauls are “Mystical rock and roll sea creatures including members of Petty Morals, The Spoilers, VAGIANT, and SkyTigers” and with the talent that’s a part of this Boston quartet we can see where that “mystical” aspect comes in but we’d like to add “mythical” to the descriptor, too, thank you very much. That’s because, after hearing their latest release and despite it being a relatively early in their career release, Scream Into The Void is the sound of seasoned vets of the scene with the know-how to make magic musically.
“Don’t Care” is an Americana meets Punk meets Rockabilly riot filled with twang, gang vocals, sing-a-long moments and stirring riffs. LoWreck’s constant thumping on the drums meshing with Ivahna Rock’s rollicking bass pretty perfectly syncs up with Rochelle’s leads on the guitar with Chrissy V’s axe complementing that all nicely. Add Chrissy V’s smooth snarl (Think the spirit of Billy Idol delivered by Joan Jett) that leads into a scream that’s like a rallying cry and you have an opening track that’s one for the books!
Speaking of stirring riffs, “Spit The Poison Out” is a raucous ripper that throws a little Social Distortion into the mix especially with Rochelle’s anthemic riffs from the get-go and a chorus that begs to be sung along to. Loudly. The low end takes center stage with LoWreck’s stick hits and Rock’s bass rumble more than delivering on “Blindside” for a banging beginning that’s a little like, bear with us a moment, Oingo Boingo. Fer reals. Go check out “Only A Lad” on the Farewell live record then come back her and tell us we’re crazy. Anyway! Let’s also praise Rochelle’s rigorous riff action here as Chrissy V expertly executes some lightning quick vocal patterns throughout ahead of a massive chorus.
And then The Downhauls choose to close this collection with one of the, ahem, coolest songs ever as they take on Less Than Zero lead single “Hazy Shade Of Winter” by The Bangles. A fairly straight up rendition but one that fits The Downhauls’ overall aesthetic, the Boston quartet manage to hit those legendary vocal harmonies quite nicely on the road to that repeated refrain at the end that devolves into a kind of controlled chaos where you feel it’ll fall off the rails at any moment… but doesn’t. Because The Downhauls are just that dang good.
Scream Into The Void will be unleashed on May 19th with a record release party planned for THAT NIGHT at Lizard Lounge with Swivel and Stars Like Ours in tow. For all the socials, all the pre-saves, all the pre-order, and all the ticket info, head here.