D.B.S.

Some Boys Got It, Most Men Don’t (New Disorder)
by Tim Den

Not that the two sound alike, but D.B.S. and Hot Water Music share some similarities. Energy and passion, in particular. Heartfelt singing, belted out like a mourner calling for his deceased love, conjuring emotions that only fine-tuned collectives can. The occasional clean guitar passage, acoustic song (“And Then I Awoke”), and early-Lifetime anthem (“Starboard”) have D.B.S. getting damn close to HWM’s divine level of emo-with-an-edge. “Your Apathy is Killing Both of Us” stands out as the most touching (the last breakdown section almost makes me cry), but the rest aren’t just whinny indie rock either. Some Boys Got it, Most Men Don’t is a record that shows a band well into the maturing process that’ll probably produce a giant in the future.