Sacramento’s Destroy Boys combine garage punk, pop, hardcore, and indie rock to create their raw, forward-thinking California punk sound, as heard on 2021’s Hopeless Records-issued Open Mouth, Open Heart and 2023’s Billboard-charting “Shadow (I’m Breaking Down).”

The band was founded in 2015 as an acoustic duo by Alexia Roditis (guitar/vocals) and Violet Mayugba (guitar/vocals), who cite a wide array of influences, including Misfits, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dog Party, the Who, Lady Gaga, and Bikini Kill. After releasing their debut EP, Mom Jeans, the pair were contacted by drummer Ethan Knight, who joined the fold ahead of the release of 2016’s Grimester EP and the full-length Sorry, Mom. The band earned multiple nominations at the 2017 Sacramento Area Music Awards. They capitalized on that momentum with a string of high-energy singles and performances featuring a rotating cast of bandmates with Roditis and Mayugba at the helm. Before long, Destroy Boys were sharing stages with bands like Mannequin Pussy, Face to Face, and Lagwagon, and touring the U.K. Their 2018 sophomore long-player, Make Room, caught the attention of Hopeless Records, which added the much-buzzed-about band to its roster. Released in 2021, Open Mouth, Open Heart saw the group deliver an aggressive and assured set of songs rooted in themes of emotional and physical abuse, bullying, and addiction. Now operating as a quartet with Roditis and Mayugba joined by drummer Narsai Malik and bassist David Orozco, the band released “Shadow (I’m Breaking Down)” in 2023 — it was their first charting single. They started 2024 with the anthemic “Plucked,” a pop banger produced by Carlos De La Garza (Paramore, the Linda Lindas). ~ James Christopher Monger