POP-PUNK
Downer Inc. - Whatever This Is Review by Ash Eyre
In the wake of all the chaos and craziness 2020 has thrown at everyone thus far, some new music from some great artists is the very least that we all expect and deserve. Kellin Quinn – frontman of American alternative rock and pop-punk group Sleeping With Sirens – has ventured into the world of solo projects and released an EP under the name of Downer Inc. giving us that new music we were longing for. The EP, titled ‘Whatever This Is’, consists of 6 tracks and was released on every streaming platform on September 16 this year. Despite being a solo project for Quinn, the tracks hold similarities to the later albums released by Sleeping With Sirens in that they have more electronic elements incorporated into them compared to their earlier works. However, Downer Inc. has a different feel to that of the singer’s main band. Where Sleeping With Sirens tended to release tracks about personal experiences that others may be able to relate to, Downer Inc. has songs about social issues that most of the younger generation have their own experiences with. The EP clearly focusses on issues and affairs surrounding people in Generation Z as the second track, titled accordingly as ‘Generation Z’, suggests. The EP starts off with the powerful ‘Ground Zero’ that sounds a lot like the track ‘Empire to Ashes’ off the second latest album released by Sleeping With Sirens, ‘Gossip’. The song features powerful vocals by Quinn accompanied by a lot of drums and bass. Something that Quinn has always been known for is his incredible vocal range and how he shows it off in his music; this song is absolutely no exception to this and his vocals are, once again, used beautifully but without being too overzealous. Towards the halfway point of the EP, the song ‘Work of Art’ features vocals by Eliza Grace whose voice blends effortlessly with that of Quinn’s. The dual, layered vocals and mix of modern synth and classic instrumentation add a wonderful sense of depth to the pop-rock sounding track. The lyrics work hand-in-hand with the duet between the two artists to make the track come across to the listener as a pop-rock romance ballad.
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