Downtown Struts
"Anchors" b/w "Mexican Graffiti"
Pirates Press Records [2012]
Over the course of the past few years we've all seen a ton of Americana-influenced pop punk groups come and go. I'm not really sure what happened to cause this musical phenomenon; could it just be the right time in a lot of punk rocker's lives to present a newer version of this classic angle, or is it simply an example of exponential trend growth? Regardless, some of these bands have done it better than others, while others ended up "hanging up their leather jackets and cowboy hats" before too many people ever even had the chance to experience them. The Downtown Struts go down that dusty path, but from the looks of things, their lengthy journey has just begun. The two tracks on this single (which support their full length, Victoria!) do exactly what a single should do: they make me want to hear the album. The songs are raw but the musicianship is tight, the vocals have a melodic blue collar scruff to them, but I'm not the slightest annoyed. It's about time I heard a band and didn't say "Oh God, here we go again." but instead thought "Oh man, where is this going to take me?".
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