"Destroy Boys” is the poster child for modern punk. Its three members — frontperson Alexia Roditis, guitarist Violet “Vi” Mayugba and drummer Narsai Malik — create personal, visceral music with a one-of-a-kind point of view.” - INTO
“ Using their platform on gender and racial equality as well as LGBTQIA+ rights, Destroy Boys channel that same unbridled passion into their lyrics. The group give a voice to the underrepresented with a fresh perspective on love, loss and everything in between.” - Alternative Press
“Hailed by many as the next great punk band, and with over 40 million streams as confirmation, Destroy Boys play hard with heavy guitar tones that radiate tuneful defiance and steely pop hooks in equal measure.” - Heavy Magazine
“Personal is political for Destroy Boys.’ - SF Weekly
“......it's safe to say Destroy Boys have successfully carved their niche in punk rock.” - Guitar World
"Originally from Sacramento and now based in San Francisco, Destroy Boys is an absolutely need-to-know punk trio.” - San Francisco Chronicle
"Channeling the spirit of anarchic American garage rock and melodic sensibilities of classic Bay Area punk into short snarling songs, Sacramento’s Destroy Boys whip up noise that is truly timeless.” - Rock Sound
“The fresh-faced, young female-fronted band are pumping fresh blood back into the life of power punk.” - Ladygunn
LISTEN TO OPEN MOUTH, OPEN HEART: HERE
Northern California’s three-piece Destroy Boys have released their third full-length album Open Mouth, Open Heart produced by Will Yip, out today on Hopeless Records. The album is available worldwide on all major streaming services, as well as vinyl online and at your local record store.
Destroy Boys are Violet Mayugba (guitar/vocals) and Alexia Roditis (vocals/guitar), rounded out by drummer Narsai Malik. The punk trio has made a name for themselves writing visceral, personal songs of scene bullies, elitist cliques, betrayal, and unrequited love - and have won over the hearts and ears of eager listeners ranging from the fervent teens who pack out their shows to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong (see his mention in the Rolling Stone cover story HERE via Instagram HERE). The band has been redefining West Coast punk, making waves from the California shoreline to the UK, sharing stages with up-and-coming bands like Mannequin Pussy, established acts such as All Time Low and The Story So Far, as well as punk stalwarts Face To Face and Lagwagon. In addition to having racked up over 80 million streams, their music can be heard in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 game, and Tik Tok has embraced them to the tune of 30 thousand user-made videos and over 3.5M views. Most recently the band was tapped by Fender Guitars for the launch of the Fender's Player Plus Series.
Although this is their third full-length album, Open Mouth, Open Heart marks a number of firsts for the band. Recorded in Philadelphia earlier this year during the lockdown, Roditis, Mayugba and Malik lived in their own little bubble, for the first time being able to patiently build the songs layer by layer. Entering the studio with producer Will Yip, (who produced all the songs on the album except for “Muzzle” which was produced by Martin Cooke), with songs that were more fully formed allowed Yip and the band time and freedom to focus on the production. Another first includes writing and recording two in Spanish, “‘Te llevo conmigo” and “Lo peor.” “I grew up bilingual,” Roditis told the East Bay Express when asked about ‘Te llevo conmigo.” “This song is a tribute to my grandparents. I didn’t get to know them but I feel them around me, so I wanted a song to honor them,” I haven’t heard many metal songs in Spanish, so I was excited to write it.”
Open Heart, Open Mouth is a huge step forward for the band both musically and the depth and density of subject matter. “ This album is just a lot more dynamic,’ Roditis told INTO. “There’s more guitars and leads — like, I play something, Vi plays something different, which is cool. It has a wide range of genres and types of songs: there’s a sort of metal-y song, we have that acoustic song, we have more mid-tempo Nirvana bangers, we have a political punk song. So it’s different in that everything that we put out, I feel like, sounds different than what it was but is still like a version of that. Like, we have children and they’re the same but look different, you know — like cousins.”
The band released 5 singles, leading into the album that showcases their growth and diversity as songwriters and musicians. “Everyone adding their own element makes the songs come alive,” says Roditis, “but the biggest difference was going from 19 to 21. I feel like a different person, esthetically.” The first track“ Muzzle,” that Alternative Press called “Ferocious,” is a blistering minute-long track. Refinery 29 commented that “Destroy Boys aren't playing nice on ‘Muzzle,’ kicking ass and taking names in the high-energy new single about fighting back against the powers that be.”
The second single “Drink” is a raw and honest look at the relationship that can exist with mind-altering substances, and how it can be both destructive and comforting. Brooklyn Vegan called it a “ripper,” and the SF Weekly said is “the most fascinating of this year’s trio of Destroy Boys singles, also commented that the song displays impressive lyrical depth. On a casual listen, it sounds like a love song wrapped in a pop-punk arrangement. Closer inspection reveals that ‘Drink’ is describing something closer to a love-hate relationship, and the subject of affection and revulsion is alcohol. It’s a candid, nuanced look at addiction.’
The next single “Locker Room Bully” saw the band punching back at bullies and the toxicity of the internet, with its culture of supporting half-truths and warped reality. KQED described it as “a proverbial middle finger that offers a swift takedown to petty-minded interlopers,” “Locker Room Bully,” was followed by “All This Love” which is as close to a ballad as the band gets on the album. The song is a lament about earning for love, and ultimately a realization that you need to first love and connect to yourself before you can be a true partner in a relationship with someone else. Spinning Platters said that "The ballad may be more ferocious than any of their more aggressive works. That’s why this is the single of the week. It may end up being the single of the year. “
The single releases were rounded out with “Escape,” a song ironically written pre-pandemic about wanting an out from the regular life, and wanting to go on tour, and wanting to escape reality in any way possible. When the Horn Blows said the song sounds like “a blend of Blondie and the Misfits,” and When it’s Too Loud said “...when a song is this great it's impossible not to love.’
This has been quite a year for Destroy Boys who have not only survived a pandemic, but a wave of online bullying, and after having to pull out of the Sad Summer Fest due to mental health reasons, have regrouped and just this week played a blistering set of shows to packed houses in Northern California and in the Pacific Northwest. The band will be taking these new songs on the road on a National Headlining tour that kicks off in Southern California next month.
NOV 19 Chain Reaction Anaheim, CA
NOV 20 VooDoo Room San Diego, CA
NOV 21 Nile Theater Mesa, AZ
NOV 23 Antone's Austin, TX
NOV 24 Ruins Dallas, TX
NOV 26 The End Nashville, TN
NOV 27 Purgatory At The Masquerade Atlanta, GA
NOV 28 Crowbar Tampa, FL
NOV 30 Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC
DEC 1 Songbyrd Music House Washington, DC
DEC 2 Space Ballroom Hamden, CT
DEC 3 Market Hotel Brooklyn, NY
DEC 4 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA
DEC 5 Fête Music Hall Lounge Providence, RI
DEC 6 Brighton Music Hall Allston, MA
DEC 8 Mahalls Cleveland, OH
DEC 9 The Sanctuary Hamtramck, MI
DEC 10 FRI Cobra Lounge Chicago, IL
DEC 11 SAT Odyssey Lounge Springfield, MO
DEC 13 89th Street Collective Oklahoma City, OK
DEC 14 Launchpad Albuquerque, NM