“Combining Spanish and English is a reflection of the experience of the Latino community in the United States”
Downtown Boysthe rebellious band from Providence, reappears with a new work for Sub Pop. In “Public Luxury” (Sub Pop/Popstock!, 26) maintain their vitality, but expand their stylistic palette, again combining English and Spanish in their lyrics.
It is quite anomalous that a young group like yours publishes its fourth album nine years after the previous one. In reality, they have not stopped that much: they have been busy with the soundtrack of Susanna Nicchiarelli’s film “Miss Marx”, the sad pandemic and other absorbing activities related to their leftist political commitment. It is explained to me by the singer and guitarist Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, a guy as affable as he is eloquent. “The last album came out in 2017, and we toured for two years. We needed a break, and then Covid arrived, which lasted another two years. Some artists were good at composing during that time, but for me it was a moment of crisis that pushed me to organize things like the North American musicians’ union United Musicians and Allied Workers, which took me a long time. At that time it was difficult for me to compose.”
“Victoria turns bowling into communal experiences”
Already in 2023 the musician and his comrades began to think “seriously” on a new album. “Some of the songs like ‘Sirena’ or ‘No me jodas’ are several years old. The process was accelerated, and it took us two years to complete the album”. The powerful single “No me jodas” –as is– encapsulates his ethical and aesthetic proposal. The group’s lead singer, Victoria Marie, combines English with belligerent Spanish. For them it is a reflection of their life and also of the growing importance of the language in the United States. “Victoria is of Mexican origin, like our bassist Mary (Regalado). And I think that combining both languages is a reflection of the reality of the Latin community in the United States, in which both languages are spoken every day. Victoria and I live in New York and it is very normal to combine both languages. More and more groups do it.”
The quintet’s intention was to capture the energy of their performances and add something more. “We have always seen ourselves as a live band. Victoria is very charismatic and turns gigs into communal experiences, they are almost rallies. There is a lot of chaos and layers of instruments: not only guitars, bass and drums, but saxes and synthesizers. All that combined with Victoria’s leadership becomes a chaotic catharsis. We wanted to capture that (…) On the previous albums we did it to a certain extent, but with a more classic punk mix. Here we have used more layers of drums, snares rhythms and a lot of synths. The mix is more expansive and deeper, with more sub-bass. It’s something we hadn’t explored before.he argues.
The incendiary directness that characterizes them is perhaps nourished by the fact that “We come from Providence, a small city. There are a lot of noise groups, like Lightning Bolt, that try to capture the audience’s attention in crazy, sweaty live shows. Our goal is to bring that to the record. Where we shine the most is live. But of course there are other groups that do things that can’t be replicated live.”
The technician with whom they made the album, Seth Manchester (Lambrini Girls, Model/Actriz) has known them and followed them for a long time, because he mastered their first work three decades ago. “And he has a joint next to his Machines with Magnets studio where we have played a lot. In the last five years he has recorded, produced or mixed amazing albums. For me the Model/Actriz album was a milestone in terms of how to mix this album, because of how it combines punk with elements of noise and electronics.”
The guitarist also mentions industrial influences – Nine Inch Nails, specifically – to describe how they have integrated electronics into songs like “You are a Ghost.” And they have gone further. “A song like ‘Mi concha’ has a chorus with a reggaeton rhythm. For us it’s fun to have things that sound a little different, and then translate them live. We love the straight punk vibe, and songs like ‘Viva la rosa’ are that, but also adding new elements.”
In these nine years, the industry’s algorithmic trend has become suffocating, and I am interested in knowing the perspective of someone so involved in unionism, in a union as precarious as that of working-class musicians. “It’s something I’ve written a lot about and I’ve also worked with the organization I mentioned before. With this album we’ve seen it more directly: we’re lucky to have the support of Sub Pop, but it’s much more difficult to get media coverage, for example. In the United States, many websites have either closed or fired many of their journalists, or have been bought by large groups. All of this has political consequences: the Penske Media corporation bought Rolling Stone, to give you an example.”
But let’s end on a positive note: the musician has the best memories of the tour they gave through Spain in 2019, as well as their concert at the Gambeat Festival in Barcelona in 2023. They hope to return. “I hope we play more there, we’re working on it. Several of our favorite concerts are the ones we gave in Madrid, Barcelona and Donosti. And I’m not telling you this just because I’m talking to you, it’s just that the audience gets into it. The one in Barcelona in 2023 was the wildest of the entire tour.”
