Local Deluxe - New Face
Based in Tamuning, Guam, alt-rock/pop-punk band Local Deluxe want to “rock your socks back on.” And they do it on their new EP, called New Face.
Local Deluxe
Saturated by reggae music, Guam is not the place you would expect to find island boys punching out punk with oomph. But Local Deluxe does just that and does it superbly, turning it on, winding it up, and letting it loose.
Made up of Christian Sumalpong (guitar, vocals), Christian Delgado (bass), and Gino Datuin (drums), the band got together after Sumalpong tired of playing in cover bands. So he recruited some friends and started writing songs.
During rehearsals, the band made nightly forays to McDonald’s for a dish made of Spam, Portuguese sausage, and rice called Local Deluxe. The name stuck.
Sumalpong told Pacific Daily News, “It’s just a fun name. It’s also exclusive to this side of the Pacific.”
All three members of the band are self-taught musicians. Delgado is Chamorro, while Sumalpong and Datuin are Guam-born Filipinos.
Saturated by reggae music, Guam is not the place you would expect to find island boys punching out punk with oomph.
Embracing six-tracks, New Face begins with “Jaco,” an instrumental track full of grand resonance, followed by the title track, which opens on a tight fuzzy guitar and fat, slapping bass line. Datuin really adds some luscious drum fills as the song progresses, using his drums as another instrument, thus adding percussive depth and dimension to the harmonics.
Sumalpong’s vocals, rasping with skater-punk inflection, deliver galvanizing timbres, as he belts out the lyrics with cool intensity.
“You're not who I remember / Well maybe that's just for the better / New face, same complications / Remove me from the situation.”
My favorite track on the EP is “Common Ground,” a tune reminiscent of Fall Out Boy before they went all Vegas show tunes, only infused with grating vocals that really make the song hum. The flow of the harmonics is infectiously alluring, rife with muscular dynamics. I love the build-up after the breakdown, as layers of sonic textures coalesce into thrumming patterns.
There isn’t a dog of a track on the EP. Each song projects hypertrophic punk energy, captivating rhythms, and splendid vocals.
