Destroy Boys

Sacramento outfit Destroy Boys fuse garage punk, pop, hardcore, and indie rock into a visceral, forward-looking strain of California punk, showcased on the 2021 Hopeless Records release Open Mouth, Open Heart and on the 2023 Billboard-charting single “Shadow (I’m Breaking Down).”

Alexia Roditis and Violet Mayugba launched the project in 2015 as an acoustic duo handling guitar and vocals, drawing from an eclectic list of touchstones that includes Misfits, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dog Party, the Who, Lady Gaga, and Bikini Kill. Following the debut EP Mom Jeans, drummer Ethan Knight reached out and came aboard in time for the 2016 Grimester EP and the subsequent full-length Sorry, Mom. The group received several nods at the 2017 Sacramento Area Music Awards, then sustained the momentum through a run of high-octane singles and shows featuring a shifting lineup anchored by Roditis and Mayugba. Soon they were sharing bills with Mannequin Pussy, Face to Face, and Lagwagon while also hitting the road in the U.K. Their 2018 sophomore album Make Room drew the interest of Hopeless Records, which promptly signed the rising act. Open Mouth, Open Heart arrived in 2021 and delivered a forceful, confident batch of tracks centered on emotional and physical abuse, bullying, and addiction. Operating now as a quartet with Roditis and Mayugba joined by drummer Narsai Malik and bassist David Orozco, the band issued “Shadow (I’m Breaking Down)” in 2023, marking their first single to chart. They opened 2024 with the anthemic “Plucked,” a pop-driven track produced by Carlos De La Garza (Paramore, the Linda Lindas).