When Alexia Roditis and Violet Mayugba formed Destroy Boys in 2015 as an acoustic project, they were just 15 years old. Their debut album ‘Sorry, Mom’ came out just a year later, when they were still in high school, followed by ‘Make Room’ in 2018. That might explain why, when we catch up, Mayugba says that she feels “like a grandma”. With messy riffs, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and Roditis’ snarling voice, they honed a distinctive sound and personality.
Destroy Boys’ influences have always been diverse: Deftones, Sleater-Kinney, Misfits, Lady Gaga, Against Me. Those touchpoints get mixed up and distilled in a chaotic, riveting, distorted offering that is distinctly Destroy Boys. They’ve been touring consistently over the last few years, supporting acts like Blink 182 and Pierce the Veil, but they never stop writing. They met up with legendary producer Carlos de la Garza in November 2022 and started working on a new record until the end of the following year. “It was a really long process. We weren’t recording the entire time, we were touring for most of 2023, but we took a lot of time with these songs,” says Mayugba.
That work would become their fourth LP, ‘Funeral Soundtrack #4’. The album showcases everything they’ve learned so far on their journey, marking their first steps into adulthood and onto an even bigger stage. The first singles, ‘Beg For The Torture’, ‘Shadow (I’m Breaking Down)’, ‘Plucked’ and Boyfeel’ have been riotously received by the band’s ever-growing fanbase. With their vulnerability and candour, they’ve connected to fans who’ve grown up alongside them, relating to their experiences of heartbreak, gender nonconformity and evolution. On ‘Funeral Soundtrack #4’, Destroy Boys come into their own sonically, lyrically, and as adults, shedding the skin of their past selves.
While the sound is still rooted in the feisty, scrappy punk energy of Destroy Boys’ earlier records, it’s decisively cleaner. With tight poppy hooks and production that lets Roditis’ voice take the charge, ‘Funeral Soundtrack #4’ plays with a range of different influences. ‘Plucked’ feels like a radio-ready pop rock track, ‘Beg For the Torture’ descends into chaos, while Spanish language song ‘Amor divino’ sees Roditis flexing their vocal capabilities. Latin pop, hardcore, goth, salsa…there’s little ground they haven’t covered here.
“I don’t think that we went in with any specific idea in mind besides making it the biggest, greatest thing we’ve ever made. We chipped away slowly at it like a beautiful ice sculpture of a swan,” says Mayugba. She adds that she tried to pull from Deftones for her guitar, but hardcore gave them a line to follow: “I listen to a lot of hardcore, so a lot of the contemporary hardcore that’s happening right now is some of my favourite music. I’m trying to emulate that in the guitar parts. I’m also screaming on it, it’s my screaming debut which was fun.” Roditis adds that they were listening to rock from Argentina while they were working on the record, as well as Goth artists like Cocteau Twins and Siouxsie and the Banshees. With such diverse influences, the sound started to fall together: “We wrote it and then saw the patterns of it later,” says Roditis.
The concepts explored on ‘Funeral Soundtrack #4’ are diverse: feminism, gender, love. Binding them all together is an overarching theme of change and new beginnings: “We didn’t realise until later that it’s about death and rebirth. Recognising patterns. Creating change that you want to see,” says Roditis. The lyrics were born from an internal, deliberate decision to write about things they hadn’t yet touched on. “We write about things that are behind the scenes. We write a lot about our inner world, our vulnerable experiences,” says Roditis. “There are a lot of questions and posing themes and letting the listener figure it out on this record.”
One of the most vulnerable tracks on the album is ‘Boyfeel’, in which Roditis explores their complex feelings around their gender: “Maybe I’m a fag instead of a dykе/or maybe I’m both at the same time” they wonder aloud. There is no answer, no conclusion, but it gives space for exploration. “I’ve been non-binary and our fans know that, but I wanted to make a big thing about it,” says Roditis. “I think our fans needed a song like that. I think a lot of them feel the same way that I do or feel similarly because everyone has their own experience. I really wanted to show that it’s not a definitive song.”
The title neatly wraps up the themes of death, rebirth and growth that the band are exploring throughout the record. Mayugba came up with the title in her bunk on a tour bus in Europe. She says that it’s number four because it’s their fourth record, and in their own way, the first three were also funeral soundtracks. “I thought it was funny but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Our first three records were really significant to these different eras of growing, changing and dying in our lives. Moving forward, moving on,” she says. “This is another one of those, but it’s the most mature one. It’s the most impactful, at least to me, because it feels mature. I feel 50 all the time.” Roditis adds: “It’s about the process of dying and coming back and shedding skin. It’s an ongoing thing. We write about patterns and bad situations that we’re in, but this one feels like a demonstration that we’re breaking them.” For them, it’s a declaration that they’re becoming adults. “I feel like I wasn’t as in control of my life for most of it. Whether I was being told what to do by my parents or my teachers or my peers, and later on by my own subconscious archetypes, this record and the age that I’m at I feel like I have more autonomy and I can do what I want to do and what I think we should do.”
When we catch up with Destroy Boys, they’re all at home resting ahead of a long summer of touring. They’ll be playing shows in America, including the Harley Davidson Homecoming Festival in Milwaukee, before coming to Europe and closing out the summer with appearances at Reading and Leeds Festival. What’s next for them? First, they joke about a “custom condom line”, becoming millionaires and winning a few Grammys. While all that might be on the cards, for now the real plans are more straightforward: “Releasing the album, going on tour, having a good time. Seeing where the wind takes us. We want to keep having fun, playing music, writing music, playing shows, meeting people. I’m really excited to play some festivals this summer. I love the craziness of being at a show like that,” says Roditis. Not only that, but Mayugba says that they’re gearing up to make another record – ‘Funeral Soundtrack #5’? “We’re writing more already. It’s been so long since we finished the record that we’re just chipping away at it again.”