August 6th, 2021 – Singapore – Northern California’s Destroy Boys have announced the release of their blistering new single “Locker Room Bully”, the third single from their forthcoming album ‘Open Mouth, Open Heart’ produced by Will Yip, coming out October 8th via Hopeless Records. Fans can watch the video for “Locker Room Bully” here smarturl.it/LRBVideo and pre-order the album here: smarturl.it/OpenMouthOpenHeart
“Locker Room Bully” was written from the perspective of someone wrongly vilified and speaks to the power of social media to spread hurtful misinformation, which can be a powerful catalyst for misplaced anger. With its fast and short format, social media and the internet, in general, can easily become a game of telephone, with people sharing half-truths about stories they have no real connection to – leading to a whole culture dedicated to canceling people online. But the song is far from a lament – it’s a powerful and fuelled statement that calls out online bullying and the way it tears people apart.
“‘Locker Room Bully’ is a product of the anger, desperation, and sadness I’ve felt in the last year,” says front person Alexia Roditis. “Throughout my life, I’ve been confronted with people who don’t like me or don’t get what I’m doing or people who think they’re right about something they know nothing about. I am frustrated to no end. But ‘Locker Room Bully’ is also my line in the sand, I suppose – a sign of letting go of people and situations I don’t control and don’t care about me.”
On the newly announced album, ‘Open Mouth, Open Heart’ as a whole shows immense growth in the band both as musicians and people. Outspoken advocates for a myriad of social justice issues, especially when it comes to racial equality, LGBTQA+ rights, and inclusion for all, these themes are prevalent in their music, their actions, and how they use their platform. The 13-track album tackles themes of abuse, bullying, insecurity, as well as deeper familial forces and sees the band stepping into, and owning their power – and truly finding their voices.
The record includes two songs written and performed in Spanish by Roditis who is half Argentinian. “‘Lo peor’ was a secret and I didn’t want most people to understand what it was,” she says about recording and releasing their very first songs in Spanish. “‘Te llevo conmigo’ is about my family and my grandparents and the people who came before me, and I wanted to sing in Spanish as a tribute to my dad’s side. Speaking Spanish is important to me and I wanted to incorporate it in some songs so as to further celebrate my culture. I know a lot of our fans speak Spanish and I wanted to make something for them! So much rock is dominated by the English language, but there are so many good rock bands who speak Spanish and I wanted to contribute to that.”
Twelve of the thirteen songs on the album were produced and recorded by Will Yip at his studio during an intense, productive, and isolated February 2021. The shredding 1 minute track “Muzzle” was produced and recorded by Martin Cooke in Los Angeles shortly beforehand. “Working with Will was like nothing we had ever experienced before,” says Violet Mayugba “as a band and as people. Being in the studio with him was a completely immersive experience. He helped us transform our record from something good into something jaw-dropping.”
Destroy Boys are Violet Mayugba (guitar/vocals) and Alexia Roditis (vocals/guitar), rounded out by drummer Narsai Malik. The punk trio have been redefining West Coast punk, making waves from the California shoreline to the UK, sharing stages with up-and-coming bands like Mannequin Pussy as well as punk stalwarts such as Face To Face and Lagwagon. In addition to having racked up over 60 million streams, their music can be heard in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 game, and TikTok has embraced them to the tune of 20 thousand user-made videos and over 3.5M views. Their visceral personal tales have won over the hearts and ears of eager listeners who pack out their shows. After more than a year of no live music the band is thrilled to be getting back on the road on road including the Sad Summer Tour, which kicks off tomorrow where they will be sharing the stage with All Time Low, The Story So Far, The Maine, Movements, and Grayscale.
ADVT
