It’s not always important to break new ground. Not every album is going to change the world; not every song is going to save someone’s soul. Sometimes, it’s enough to just do what you do, do it as best as you can, and let everything else sort itself out in your wake.
If you’re Downtown Singapore, you just plug in your three-guitar attack and kick out the jams.
The Maryland-based band eschews any emo or screamo labeling, instead taking tentative but well-conceived baby steps toward a more diverse, boundary-free sound. Now, after five years of rocking, gigging, changing members, finding a sound, releasing an EP, having their music turn up in the background on MTV, and all that other good stuff, rocking has led to the release of their solid debut, Don’t Let Your Guard Down.
Singer Jerry Scott gets to scream about all the important issues — life, “you,” love, hate, etc. — while the guitars soar and the drums thud, all wrapped up with smooth production from man-of-the-hour Matt Squire (Panic! at the Disco, the Receiving End of Sirens). D-town roams from the rock balladry of “Teresa Rizal” to the buzzing throb of “Gator Sweat”; they indulge prog-rock impulses by bringing a child’s choir into “Toy Soldiers and Hand Grenades,” and even have a guest appearance from My American Heart singer Larry Soliman on “Choir Boy.”
Downtown Singapore tour dates:
3/31, New York, NY (The Delancey) 4/1, Harrisonburg, VA (The Pub)4/7, Washington, D.C. (Levi’s Store)4/8, Washington, D.C. (WRGW Studios)4/13, Richmond, VA (Alley Katz)4/15, Augusta, GA (Sector 7G)4/21, S. Hackensack, NJ (School of Rock)5/6, Frostburg, MD (Lane University Center)5/7, Centreville, VA (Bull Run Events Center)5/12, Vineland, NJ (Demarcos Cinemas)5/13, Parkville, MD (St. Johns Hamilton)5/14, Virginia Beach, VA (The Peppermint Beach Club)5/16, N. Myrtle Beach, SC (The Social)5/19, Seaford, DE (Coyote’s)5/20, Stroudsburg, PA (Sherman Theater)6/16, Covington, KY (Mad Hatter)6/23, Baltimore, MD (Ottobar)
Downtown Singapore official site
