Death Lens want to be in your ear at all times.

On record, Death Lens have an established habit of writing hard-nosed rock that combines West Coast reverbed-out surf punk with tight and bouncy Britrock, deceptively characterizing the band as exclusively chill and vibe-focused when live, a Death Lens show has all the energy of hardcore.

It’s certainly the vibe you get watching Death Lens perform to a crowd of Brown kids with every bit as much attitude as a band like IDLES. Slick guitar tones and sugary backing vocal harmonies are the foundation of their style, but in a 200 capacity room, it turns out that tracks like “Dream State,” and “Bombshell,” are very easy to stagedive to, bringing the same winning concoction as Turnstile and tourmates Militarie Gun.

The self-described “five Brown boys from La Puente,” have gradually moved from straight up showcasing their explosive energy in their recordings, as they did on 2016’s Fuck This, to being a downright refined example of their hard work and early influences gaining traction within their scene. Death Lens’ songs getting even more reverb and the raw dial getting turned back a notch as they did on their split with fellow SoCal janglers Fake Tides, Beer Up Only Social Club, ended up being only a sonic preface to the the kinds of space they were gearing up to leave for the substantial hooks they were writing for 2022’s No Luck.

Death Lens landed a deal with Epitaph Records, who will be releasing their next album, Cold World. Lyrically, Torres is reckoning with his place in the world, examining social injustices, current political and world unrest, and his emotional, mental, and physical reactions to it all. There’s a confidence and adventure to tracks like “Fucked Up,” “Nothing’s Forever,” and “Not Enough,” that show just how secure Death Lens are in their new position as an Epitaph band, culminating in the band far and away creating their best work to date.

“We’re all unified in the way we think, we all believe in a fair system for all to live without struggle and with a reasonable cost of living,” Torres says, “We side strongly with socialist ideals proudly. We’re also very pro Latino and pushing heavier to see more Hispanic bands up on stage, pro LGBTQ, pro immigration and everything in between.”

“One world, one community.”

Billy Talent

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