Drowners is an indie pop punk band from New York City whose sound will resonate with fans of Arctic Monkeys or The Strokes. This band rocks, using the formula of romanticly angst-ridden vocals over quick-moving riffs and rhythms. While they follow a particular sound, their recently released self-titled album is easy listening with poppy guitar riffs and an infectious vocalist.
The single “Luv, Hold Me Down” sticks out, and definitely grows on you. With a driving bass line, and a great exclamatory chorus: “Hold me down, and never let me go!”, the band wrote a great 21st century love song. The catchy and upbeat “You’ve Got It Wrong” is one of my favorite cuts, with its swinging and joyful guitar riffs and laid-back lyricism, it makes for a fun track. Another raging song is “Pure Pleasure” where the singer goes through being told “I can love you in secret, but no one can know,” but seems to take it pretty well. The album is full of these love-or-turmoil situations, and the band doesn’t skip a beat taking you through them. The album has some slower tracks like “Unzip Your Harrington,” but they go hard on “Bar Chat” and “Let Me Finish,” which are two standouts.
Check out Drowners playing Kung Fu Necktie on February 7th. Get tickets here. Below, watch a music video for the single “Luv, Hold Me Down”. Stream the entire album on Spotify, or pick it up here.