ALBUM REVIEW: Let Me Downs – North By Southwest (Felony Records)
Tacoma, Washington trio Let Me Downs are back with a second slice of their blue collar punk rock, and it’s a very welcome return from a band who faced adversity from the start.
They were formed in winter 2019 when Paul Levesque (bass/vocals) relocated from Phoenix, AZ, to Tacoma, and recruited Garrett ‘Stump’ Guadiana (drums) and Pat Hall (guitar/vocals).
It didn’t take long to write their self-released debut album Tacoma Is For Lovers, but they hadn’t reckoned on the pandemic getting in the way, which might be why it passed beneath many people’s radar.
Now they’re back with the follow-up, and hopefully North By Southwest will reach a far bigger audience. It certainly deserves to. I’ve seen their sound described as reminiscent of early-2000s pop-punk and emo, but to me it’s closer to Social Distortion and Face To Face – yes, it’s that good.
Heart on the sleeve
It’s 10 slices on heart-on-the-sleeve punk rock, which bursts into life with Broken Promises, a bitter goodbye to an ex-lover which was trailed as a single. You can almost taste the resentment as Hall sings: “You broke down my walls/Brick by brick/Gave you all I had/It didn’t amount to shit.”
Boulder is another song on the same subject, but this time our man is more reflective, saying: “I miss the way she used to look at me and the smile on her face/The way it felt. When she looked at me/ Will I ever feel that way again?”
Home Sweet Home is a more upbeat song full of slashing guitars about going home, even if it’s not in the circumstances you might choose. We can all identify with the sentiment “Familiar places, familiar names/I’m back where I belong,” and for me this is the standout track.
After such an uplifting song, Drowning‘s self-reflective coda of “I’ll never be the same/I’ll never be the same/I’ll never be the same” is a bit of a comedown, but it’s another strong song. Have you guessed this is a break-up album yet?
A well-chosen cover version of Gin Blossoms’ 1992 hit Hey Jealousy follows. Slightly rougher around the edges than the original, it sits comfortably among the very personal material here.
The awkwardness of meeting your ex with her new boyfriend is the subject of 3am, which has the voices in your head telling you: “I’m not fine with this/Get over it.”
More lost love
There’s more reflection about a lost love on My One Regret, and our hero is by now convinced the relationship’s failure was his fault: “I’ll be missing you tomorrow and the day after that too/I have only one regret in my life. That regret is you.”
SSDD is about – guess what – and sounds a little like The Offspring, while I’ll Be Fine is a rare moment of clarity, finding rare positivity in leaving your friends and all you knew behind to live life as one big road trip.
Things come to a conclusion with the Rocky-sampling One More Round, which is about having one for the road, and given the relationship-heavy nature of the record I’m guessing that doesn’t mean a drink.
This album will strike a chord with anyone who’s been through heartbreak, and whether that’s the case or not, it deserves to make Let Me Downs your favourite new band. 8/10.
- North By Southwest by Let Me Downs is available on vinyl, CD and on all streaming platforms. Listen to it on their Bandcamp page HERE.
