ATP! Album Review: The Downtown Fiction - Losers & Kings

The Downtown Fiction has been poised for a big breakout for a while now, especially after getting a decent amount of radio play with the catchy single “I Just Wanna Run.” Losers & Kings should’ve been the album that made them a household name, but it falls a bit short. It’s not a bad album, but it’s not really a great one either. It’s easy to listen to, but there’s not really any song on it that jumps out at you or makes a huge impact.

The band comes closest with the third track on the album, “Don’t Count Me Out.” It pairs upbeat guitars with an interesting melody that gets you humming it instantly. The lyrical content isn’t bad either, with vocalist Cameron Leahy crooning about how he’s “on a mission” and “never plans on giving up.”

The lyrics of most of the other songs, however, sound like mediocre poetry from a rebellious teenager’s diary. “Hope I Die on a Saturday Night” contains the gem “Monday morning is a dirty whore, let’s go dancing in the dollar store,” while “Santa Cruz” has the lines “I’ve got my skateboard, I’m never coming home” making up half the song. Also, every song appears to have a rhyme scheme, making some of the lyrics feel forced and adding to the teenage feel.

The sound of the songs is solid at least. The guitars have a really awesome sound and Leahy’s voice is really strong. He sounds really into it, and surely live the lyrics are simple enough to get everyone jumping and singing along. They just don’t seem to provoke any strong feelings.

The band sound better than they ever have, which is what makes this release more disappointing. With the potential that they have and the strength of their sound, this album could’ve been something really awesome, especially with the cover art, which is truly epic. Instead, it’s just another pop-rock album.

2/5

Lauren Jones

Losers & Kings is available now via Fearless Records.