The Bobby Lees have had enough of life behind a screen. The New York garage-punk trio return with ‘OUTLAW’, a snarling, rap-driven track that takes aim at our collective dependence on technology, with frontwoman Sam Quartin leading the charge against the digital world.
Working once again with producer Dave Sardy, the band pull inspiration from Quartin’s hip-hop-influenced solo project Lady Boy, bringing its rhythmic bite into The Bobby Lees’ already unruly sound. Kendall Wind’s heavy bass and Macky Bowman’s pounding drums underpin a track that swaps some of the band’s familiar garage-rock attack for glitched beats and a distinctly darker groove.
Taking cues from the technological paranoia of Black Mirror, ‘OUTLAW’ finds Quartin questioning what constant connectivity is doing to us. Her growing discomfort with digital consumption drives a song that makes a fairly convincing argument for putting down the smartphone and getting back into the real world.
The single follows June’s New Self, an eight-track album that finds The Bobby Lees digging into addiction, relationships and personal upheaval without losing their appetite for noise. Their ferocious take on PJ Harvey’s ‘50ft Queenie’ sits alongside original material that pulls from punk, grunge, hip-hop and the more abrasive end of alternative rock.
Formed in 2017, The Bobby Lees have attracted some notable admirers along the way, including Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry and Henry Rollins. Actor Jason Momoa also became an unlikely ally after the band’s 2022 hiatus, helping them record New Self and documenting the process for the second season of his HBO series On The Roam.
With ‘OUTLAW’, The Bobby Lees are pushing beyond their garage-punk foundations without abandoning the rough edges that make them interesting. It’s a song about escaping the grip of technology, delivered with enough distortion and attitude to make switching off sound rather appealing.
