POP-PUNK REVIEW - Downer Inc.

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.

The title track – ‘Whatever This Is’ – comes as the final song and rounds up the EP. It has a typical pop-punk sound to it and is very reminiscent of early 2000s music thanks to both Quinn’s vocals and the upbeat drums running throughout the whole song. In contrast to the regular pop-punk style, Quinn incorporates his screaming skills into this track with some powerful background screams towards the end. The song ends with a classic pop-punk style fade-out at 3:23 feeling somewhat too soon. The title track almost seems lesser than some of the other tracks in this EP and doesn’t really uphold the reputation that a title track should. The song ends almost too abruptly with the fade-out and seems like a weak song to end with even though it is still a good piece.

Overall, each track works well together and forms a well-rounded EP but some may say that the ending is rather disappointing. There are some far more powerful and striking songs in the EP to the last/title track so some may ask why Quinn chose to end with the track he did. Despite this, many fans took to the EP well and were thrilled with its release during such a difficult time. Hopefully an album is soon to follow this release from Downer Inc.