Five Favourites: Downtown Boys

Having been big fans of Rhode Island’s Downtown Boys‘ fierce industrial punk for a number of years now, we’re super excited that they’ll be releasing their new album Public Luxury next week on 26th June via Sub Pop Records. Initially connecting at union meetings while working together at a hotel, founding members Victoria Marie and Joey La Neve DeFrancesco let their political drive and desire for change seep into everything they release as a band, and this is certainly showcased in this resonant and powerful collection, its name alone alluding to the need for services to be available to everyone. Propelled forwards with an empowering drive and seething energy, its themes reflect a bold hope and determination that a better world is possible, whilst simultaneously raging against the horrors that continue to strip the rights of marginalised communities. A resonant retort against the powers that be; a colossal call to arms to unite, resist hopelessness and fight for change.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, ahead of the release of Public Luxury next week, we caught up with each member of the band to find out about the albums that have inspired them the most. Read about their five favourites, and watch the poignant animated video for recent anti-ICE single ‘You’re A Ghost‘ below…

Joey Doubek:

Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire
When I was 9 I came across ‘Down Rodeo’ on my scan-only radio player walking through Chicago O’Hare airport, and was completely overwhelmed by the intensity of the lyrics and riffs. It took me at least a year to place Rage Against The Machine when I finally heard ‘Bulls on Parade’. Now, 30 years later I still get chills whenever I listen to Evil Empire. I credit this record and RATM for helping shape my world view at such a young age; for the realisation that the people in power in the place I live could inflict so much pain and suffering – “Is all the world jails and churches?”

Joe DeGeorge:

Pharoah Sanders – Journey to the One 
Soft and ferocious, delicate and powerful, technical and fluid, yearning and fulfilling. This record is a beautiful illustration of the breadth of Sanders’ capabilities and expressions. Jazz mythos and legend aside, this record inspires my own playing and performance, existing in the motional space between the freer worlds we imagine, the frustration of the present, and the struggle to move ourselves towards utopia. This role for the saxophone in this space I find well established by Sanders’ work.Pharoah Sanders’ use of saxophone in this evocative and spiritual space are apparent when paired with the declarative idealism of the chorus on ‘You’ve Got to Have Freedom’. Freedom, peace, and love; these are the things we got to have. But with Sanders’ entrance on this song we hear no conventional illustration of peace or harmony. Instead, a heralding ostentato of frustrated harmonics from a muscled embouchure tells me that the work of getting all to have freedom, peace, and love is necessary, physical, hard, strained, and will stretch our ideas of what is possible and what is acceptable. 

Joey La Neve DeFrancesco:

Yasmine Hamdan – I remember I forget 
This was one of my favourite records of 2025 and I wish it got more coverage here. Hamdan succeeds in the extremely difficult task of creating an album that’s both achingly beautiful and so directly in response to the past years of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and now Lebanon. For instance, the gorgeous song ‘Shmaali’ is based on taraweed, a type of traditional Palestinian song sung by women that often uses coded language to secretly pass information without Israeli soldiers understanding. I love the animated video she made for the title track ‘I remember I forget’ and we hired the animator Khalil to make the video for our recent single ‘You’re a Ghost’.

Victoria Marie:

Priests – Tape Two
I know it is not a full length, but I really love Tape Two by Priests. Our band had the pleasure of meeting Katie Alice Greer when she was in Chain and the Gang, and she introduced us to the members of Priests. Tape Two came out on cassette and I remember having a cassette player that my grandma gave me to listen to mixtapes with Spanish and English songs that she’d made me. Tape Two’s ‘USA (Incantations)’ and ‘Lana’ just really really hit, with ‘USA (Incantations)’ managing to highlight the USA’s violent and brutal history with its beautiful use of music, adrenaline, and vocal protest. Also, I really appreciate how much Katie has always used her platform to speak against poignant injustices, from sexism in music to the need to end bombing and war on Gaza and Palestine.

Mary Jane Regalado:

Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Hands down my most listened to album of 2025 & 2026. This album beautifully captures the joy and pain of the Latinx diaspora. Encapsulating the lasting effects of colonialism while highlighting the legacy of resistance in our communities; from the commodification of our people and culture, the heartbreak of witnessing gentrification and displacement, the privatization of lands, and the fight for independence, to the inherent need to shake ass and deeply celebrate and honor love, friendship & family. The way Bad Bunny masterfully merges genres like reggaeton, salsa, bomba, dem bow and plena so seamlessly creates an album that is so exciting and fresh, but ultimately coherent. It blows my mind. It’s the perfect soundtrack to listen to while getting ready for a night out, on a long drive on tour, while cleaning my apartment, or while making protest banners at an art build. A few months ago the governor of Puerto Rico came to DC to promote Puerto Rican statehood – my friend invited me to an art build organized by JUPI (Juventud Unida por la Independencia) to protest and call for the independence of PR. Currently PR is being militarized by US troops – the island is being hit with ICE raids, beaches that are for the people are being privatized and sold to foreign investors. The struggle for anti-imperialist liberation and independence continues in PR, and this album reminds us that as we fight for liberation, it is important to have fun, to be in community with comrades and our loved ones. To celebrate each other, help each other out when in need – chill at the beach and enjoy the sunset, perreo, party, take pictures of our loved ones, hang with abuelo and play dominos all day. Take time to grieve, be present and embrace the short amount of time we have on this earth, and enjoy the small things like coffee in the morning, and a gallon of rum with friends while dancing in the streets.

Huge thanks to Downtown Boys for sharing their Five Favourites with us! We can’t wait for the release of Public Luxury next Friday 26th June via Sub-Pop Records. In the meantime, watch the poignant animated video for recent single ‘You’re A Ghost’ here:

Photo Credit: Naomi Yang

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Guest Blog: Neev

Having been steadily carving out her place in the UK indie-folk scene, known for her intricate storytelling and evocative vocals, Scottish songwriter Neev first charmed our ears with her 2023 debut album, Katherine, before going on to cast her captivating spell once more with last year’s sophomore offering, How Things Tie In Knots.

Now, having called London home for a number of years – grateful for the sense of community and creativity it has allowed her – Neev will be relocating up north later in the year, and, as a farewell to her beloved city, she will be playing a special intimate gig next Wednesday 27th May at SJQ in Dalston. Ahead of the gig, we caught up with Neev to reflect on her mixed feelings about London, its supportive DIY music scene, what it’s offered her and the reasons why it’s time to leave. Have a read and nab tickets to next Wednesday’s gig here.

Being a musician in London in my mid-20s shaped me, but now I’m leaving.

Moving to London wasn’t a dream of mine. I didn’t get the hype. I moved there to study a masters and living in the city was a slow burn. It was too big, I got lost a lot, it was expensive. But, when it hit summer, I started to understand what pulled people there, and once I got curious about the live music scene, I started to understand why people stayed.

In 2019, an ill-suited 9-5 job spurred me to pick up my guitar. I started writing songs I didn’t hate and went to open mics every night. Since that decision, I’ve had the privilege of making life-long friends, attending awe-inspiring gigs, making music, playing with my band and darting around the city most days from studios, to venues, to rehearsal rooms. Being a musician in London in my 20s shaped me, but now I’m leaving.

My decision to leave isn’t ground-breaking. It’s all the reasons you’ve heard before: cost, space, access to nature, the things that every Londoner tolerates until they can’t. But I don’t regret a moment spent in the city cutting my teeth in the music scene. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.

It was through the music scene that I met my incredible band. I met musician and singer-songwriter, Alex Cambridge, at my first gig, playing to a handful of friends. My soon-to-be musical right-hand woman, Frankie Morrow – aka Maz McMillian – was also in the crowd that evening. I’ve had the joy of playing with her and Alex in their bands over the years where I’ve learned so much. I’ve managed to convince the busiest musician in London, Greg Sheffield, to still play with me after all these years, which has been a joy, and I met Alex Reed as a newcomer to London – his brilliant bass playing and friendship have been a steady presence throughout my time in the city.

Something I respect about the scene is how democratized it is, there’s something for everyone. The pub corners that pull crowds, the church halls, the quirky book shops that double as venues. This scene is held up by hard working promoters that care about getting good music heard; the Get in Her Ears team being a brilliant example, as is Bark Noise and the Soundsniffer. I feel very lucky to have seen incredible shows. I’ll never forget seeing Bojockey and Glowworms at the Shacklewell Arms, wedged into a spellbound crowd yelling the words. I’ve seen acoustic sets at the Gladstone Arms from Laura Reznek, Frankie Morrow and Ann Lui Cannon. Shows at the Lexington and The Finsbury have felt so special, where people like Cordelia Gartside and Alex Cambridge have played.

But right now in the capital, rent prices continue to soar, the cost of living is at an all time high, and sustaining a music career gets harder. In the current context, watching the musicians around me make it work to keep creating their art is more of an impressive feat than ever. So, what is it about London? You may be reading this thinking of other amazing creative hubs dotted around the UK and beyond. I think Glasgow, my hometown, is one of them, and it’s a cheaper city to live in. I was recently listening to a conversation between the comics Mike Birbiglia and Nish Kumar, who got onto the topic of living as a creative in London. Nish said:

“London will always continue to throw up interesting people and exciting people… Because if you pack a load of creative people into a space where they don’t really have enough room to manoeuvre without bumping into each other, that’s where the cool shit really happens.”

Mike Burbiglia agrees and replies:

“That’s the point, yeah” but adds “it’s basically impossible to live there. Good luck.”

Which sums up my love for London: it’s absolutely packed to the brim with talent, life and creativity. And everybody makes it work, even if it’s basically impossible to live there.


Huge thanks to Neev for sharing her thoughts on being a musician in London with us – catch her at SJQ next Wednesday. Otherwise, she’ll be in Nottingham on 28th May and up in her hometown of Glasgow on 29th May.

Photo Credit: @framesbyfrances

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Five Favourites: WIDGET

Having completely dazzled us with their gritty compelling energy and utterly unique charisma when they headlined New River Studios for us last month, East London post-punk supergroup WIDGET (featuring members of Big Joanie, all cats are beautiful, Junodef and Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani) have just released their debut album, Classy Hits Vol.2. Filled with seething, satirical anthems, as fitting for the dance-floor as for taking to the streets and rising up against the powers that be, it’s a truly unique collection; a perfect glimpse into the wonderfully wonky, fantastically frenzied and deliriously dark world of WIDGET.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspires them the most. So, we caught up with Ky from WIDGET to ask about their “Five Favourites” and they’ve picked five songs that they feel most influenced the writing and recording of Classy Hits Vol.2. Have a read about their choices below, scroll to down to watch their latest video for ‘WHAT IF PHONES BUT TOO MUCH‘, make sure you check out the full album, and also listen to Ky and Estella from the band talk more about the album on our next radio show, which airs tomorrow Wednesday 13th May on Soho Radio at 8pm!

Shopping – ‘The Long Way Home’
I’ve known these lot for a really long time. I’ve actually just finished producing a record with Ray on fiddle/vox, Bianca (Island Girl) on mandolin/percussion/vox and Femi Oriogun-Williams on guitar/accordion/vox, which is honestly incredible. Black British folk at its absolute finest. Shopping were the first post-punk band I ever got truly into, something about the super stripped back arrangements, the overlapping vocals and the driving disco beats definitely planted the seed for widget even way back then.

Joey Fourr – ‘My Dolphins‘
Another seminal piece of ‘00s/’10s UK post-punk history that I was fortunate enough to be in the vicinity of for the albeit short existence of the band in this form. I saw them play an in-store in maybe 2014/5 and Xoey said she liked my Bambi jumper which made my day. I’m still reppin’ this album to people wherever i can, it’s got such a unique sound and quality to it that really catches people. think both of these two entries were recorded at the legendary Power Lunches.

Sade – ‘No Ordinary Love’
I could never in all my life get enough of this song, or her catalogue in general. Absolutely exquisite voice, the subtle driving funk of the bass lines, plenty of space in the drums and that pre-chorus with the chugging guitars that hang over into the chorus hook. I listened to a lot of ‘80s post-disco pop when mixing the new widget record, trying to blend the clarity and space they had with the sad modern necessity for loud masters to cut through the crowd.

Solange -‘Cranes In The Sky’
This is simply one of the greatest songs of all time, off one of the greatest albums of all time. The drums are PERFECT in their simplicity, the bass is gorgeous and expressive and feels effortless and so conversational. the rising piano line in the chorus, the stunning production, the soaring vocals. Absolutely perfect work, zero notes whatsoever. a seat at the table is up there with ‘Blond(e)’ as two of the very best musical works of this century so far, and I’ll happily scrap anyone who disagrees outside the next widget show and Brooklyn Vegan can film it.

Minutemen – ‘The Glory Of Man’
My mate turned me onto this band a few years ago, and this song is still on regular rotation for me. I love the space that’s given for the vocals, saving the guitar stabs for the instrumental sections. The lead singer died tragically young – there’s a real nice doc on YouTube called ‘We Jam Econo’ that people should really watch. Sweet lil DIY punk boys doing sweet lil DIY punk boy stuff like jumping out of trees etc.


Huge thanks to Ky for sharing their Five Favourites with us! Classy Hits Vol.2., the debut album from WIDGET, is out now. Watch the band’s latest video for ‘WHAT IF PHONES BUT TOO MUCH’ below and, if you’re in London next Saturday 16th May, catch the band live (you won’t regret it!) playing a fundraiser for Lebanon with Nastazia Bazil at The Piehouse Coop in New Cross. Tickets here.

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Five Favourites: Tenderness

As someone who had Deep Throat Choir soundtrack me walking down the aisle, hearing the voice of anyone from that incredible collective always feels pretty special. And so the debut solo album from Katy Beth Young (also of Peggy Sue) – aka Tenderness – has been an extremely welcome treat for my ears since its release last month. Showcasing Young’s gorgeously rich vocals as twinkling Americana-tinged hooks ripple throughout, True offers stirring reflections on relationships, grief and the fleeting nature of joy. As a gentle melancholy flows alongside a twinkling uplifting grace, it’s an exquisite testament to Young’s resonant songwriting and the beautiful raw emotion that shimmers through every song. I was lucky enough to hear the album live at St Pancras Old Church a few weeks back; a perfect setting for the moving celestial splendour of Tenderness.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them the most. So, we caught up with Katy to ask about her “Five Favourites” and she’s picked five albums that she feels most influenced the writing and recording of True. Check out her choices below, scroll to down to watch the beautiful video for ‘Day Of Atonement‘, which features Deep Throat Choir singing alongside Katy, and make sure you set aside time to immerse yourself in the full album.

Kim Deal – The 2013-2014 Singles 
This is not exactly an album (sorry!) but I love Kim Deal a lot and she/The Breeders have been a huge influence. She put out these ten singles in 2013-14 without much fuss and I listened to them constantly when I discovered them about a year later – ‘Are You Mine?’ and ‘Beautiful Moon’ are pretty much perfect. There’s surfy guitars and lo-fi drums and Kim Deal’s perfect voice and also absolutely killer lyrics like – “I’m happy for you / but I feel crying”. I’m always aiming for that kind of conciseness and contradiction with my own lyrics. The arrangements are very sparse and simple and satisfying and they sound very alive. It’s like each song has been condensed into its absolute essence, which is something I’ve aspired to do with Tenderness – just letting the song be itself musically and lyrically. They also all sound like they belong together – from the heaviest to the gentlest. True was made over quite a long time, so Euan and I worked really hard to pull some sonic threads through them and make sure they belonged, and this set of songs was a really good touch point for that. 

Big Thief – Masterpiece
The first Big Thief song I heard was ‘Real Love’. In the space of a week about six different friends sent it to me saying “I think you’ll like this” and obviously I did. I love every Big Thief album & their solo stuff too – they are each perfect for a slightly different day, time, mood  – but Masterpiece is still the one I listen to the most. It makes me want to sing along in a way that probably only Mariah Carey ever did before. The song ‘Masterpiece’ makes me want to write loud songs and ‘Lorraine’ makes me want to write quiet sexy songs and ‘Vegas’ makes me want to practice the guitar. 

Allegra Krieger – I Keep My Feet on The Fragile Plane
A lot of my writing influences happen quite slowly without me really noticing, but recording influences are much more conscious. Allegra Krieger was a big one for this album. The sounds and the mood and the space she leaves around things is so captivating. We used it as a reference for vocal sounds and mood a lot. And the songs are brilliant and clever – there’s a real sense of place and time and Krieger can create a whole world or a whole relationship in a couple of lines. This is one of my favourites from the song ‘Lingering’ – “I wanted to tell you something small and stupid / but I couldn’t remember when I saw your face.” I’ll listen to any album that Double Double Whammy puts out now. 

Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
For better or worse Bright Eyes will probably always be my hand-on-heart ‘favourite band’. I discovered them at my most tender and suggestible age (I was trying to download ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ on Limewire but I’d forgotten what the title was). Oberst’s lyrics have had a profound effect on how I write and what I aim for – they are honest and wise and naive and heartbreaking and hopeful at once. When I was younger, I loved Lifted, or the story is in the soil, keep your ear to the ground the best because it’s noisy and emo and kind of mean, but now that I’ve fully accepted that my soul is part-country I’ve come back around to I’m Wide Awake… It’s a bit of a time capsule for me now, plus it has Emmylou Harris on two songs.

Laura Marling – Song for our Daughter 
This album came out at the very start of the pandemic and I listened to it a lot walking around my local area that summer – which is also when I was writing the songs that would become True. Laura has been an influence forever, but I think at that moment there was something particularly inspiring about the clarity of her voice and her storytelling and the musicality of the arrangement. It helped me give myself permission to make these quieter songs with my voice right in the middle.


Huge thanks to Katy for telling us about her Five Favourites! Watch the beautiful video ‘Day Of Atonement’ below, and make sure you check out True, the debut album from Tenderness, which is out now via Amorphous Sounds.

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