Downtown Boys

***A reissue of the debut album by Providence, RI’s DOWNTOWN BOYS via Buffalo, NY’s Radical Empathy Records. First recorded in 2012, the album was originally self-released on hand made cassettes and CDs, both of which have been unavailable for years. Available now for the first time on vinyl, the tracks sound as urgent and raw as ever, and are a perfect document of the band’s original lineup that created its now signature sound. The album was originally created in a suburban Rhode Island basement during the band’s first year of existence by friend MICHAEL JEFFRIES, and later mastered at Rhode Island’s Machines With Magnets. The 10 songs include many that are now standard in the band’s famously high-energy live performances, such as "Rich Boys," an earlier version of "Slumlord Sal," "Haz Algo," and covers of "Maldito" by Mexico’s Jessy Bulbo, and "Poderimo Rok" by Pekinška Patka from the former Yugoslavia. The recording is an exciting window into the sound and ideas that would later develop into the group’s 2014 7-inch released on Sister Polygon Records, and their better known 2015 LP Full Communism released Don Giovanni records, which garnered “Best of The Year” accolades from Pitchfork, NME, NPR, All Music and more, and inspired Rolling Stone to call them "The Most Exciting Punk Band in America.”