Townewest’s Bittersweet Summer
On their debut album “before it’s too late”, Townewest want you to relive your best — and worst — summer memories.
There are two sides to Townewest, a multifaceted boy band based in Los Angeles. On one side, there is the avant-garde thrills of their mixtape “Garden Audience”, which the members Jonum and Bouquet describe as “an intermission”. But on the other side, as heard on their debut album “before it’s too late”, there is the Townewest that could be destined for pop stardom.
On “before it’s too late” Townewest makes a sweaty, sun-drenched ode to the end of summer. The album is cinematic, built off of skits that members Jonum and Bouquet recorded on their phones throughout the year, that take you through fucked up parties, late night conversations, and lonely, scorching hot days.
“This album represents one big summer in your lifetime,” Townewest member and producer Jonum told me from his apartment in LA a few days before the album’s release. “We’re just trying to build a universe. ’before it’s too late’ is a memory of a summer that we all have in our lives.” Townewest’s kind of summer represents the universal summer experience for your twenties: it’s messy, often weird, self-righteous, and always thrilling.
The album spans across multiple genres from fuzzy, low-fi rock to dizzying hip-hop, all guided by Jonum and Bouquet who are nimble pop stars. Bouquet, with his husky, deep voice, and Jonum, who often sounds punchy and game for anything, are graceful musicians, able to veer between sounds without ever sounding inauthentic.
“I don’t like people that rap about things that they haven’t been living or singing about things that aren’t their life,” Bouquet said.”That’s why vulnerability is one of the biggest things for me when making music.”
And although “before it’s too late” is a wild, fun world to dive into, it’s also deeply personal. On “SHOE GLUE” Bouquet raps about his cat Oona, “if I didn’t know my cat I’d probably die yesterday or the day before that.” On “sunburn”, the guys take in too much sun and perhaps experience too much shit – “but it’s okay,” Jonum sings, because “I wanna hang out with you every day.”
Often, Townewest play the role of the degenerate fuck-ups who want to have as much fun as possible before the end of summer. “You said I would crash and burn/ You’re kinda right,” Jonum admits on “spider!” “I’m just trying to do it all myself and it just went all wrong.” But there is also something more nuanced coasting along Townewest’s summer, and that is a hope to finally understand who they are. “I’m just looking for myself,” an unnamed character says on the skit “MIDDLE”. “I’m just trying to be here. I’m trying to enjoy the moment.” Or as another character says in the opening track, “This summer I’m just trying to be someone I like.”
Townewest may be an independent band, but that hasn’t stopped them from taking big, artistic swings.
“I’m super into pop culture. I’m obsessed with Pokemon and cartoons,” Bouquet said as he explained the group’s concept. “That’s probably why I made such a huge point for Townewest to have a lore,” he added. “We want to make [our musical experiences] feel like an art gallery where you walk in and there’s just so much to experience,” he explained.
To get a taste of the kind of multi-sensory experiences Townewest serves up, take a look at their concerts. When they opened for CLUB BOYBND in August, the guys stood out thanks to their costumes – and the Pokemon cards they handed out. All of this, Bouquet told me, ties back to an unfolding Townewest universe that is taking shape with each release.
That fascination with pop culture means Townewest pulls inspiration from multiple directions. Both members cite Beyonce’s “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR” as one of the most inspiring shows of the year. But they also see rappers like Tyler the Creator and Jean Dawson as musicians who are evolving in unexpected, exciting ways.
“Obviously they're at the top of what they're doing, but we love that it’s not just about the music for them,” Jonum said. If you go to one of their concerts, he explained, “you’re going to experience installations of their music.”
Townewest believes this focus on art and music is what will eventually make them stand apart. “We don’t know everything and we’re still learning so much,” Jonum continued. “We have a lot of hope that we are going to get to that point where we have a million things going on at once during a show.”
While Jonum spent time this spring opening for K-R&B artists like JUNNY and GEMINI, CLUB BOYBND’s LA show was the first time they had performed together in front of a sold out audience. Their rain jacket costumes, which Bouquet found while browsing a thrift store, were a way to show that the group was thinking outside the box. Bouquet asked his father, who’s an artist, to tag and draw on the jackets, while Bouquet, a professional artist himself, added his own designs. “My dad just went crazy [tagging],” he said.
“Obviously we don’t have a big budget, but I felt like we could expand it a little bit more and be more expressive with our outfits,” he said. “We also feel like it’s unifying because everyone is wearing the same thing.”
That night, the group was joined by Gio Alford, a new addition to the group who vibed perfectly onstage with Jonum and Bouquet. This is another piece of Townewest that sets them apart: For nearly any release, they collaborate with artists who bring their own stories and skills to the table. On “before it’s too late”, the group is joined by BU-WAN, of CLUB BOYBND, and Backyard Ghost, two rising artists in the LA R&B/ hip-hop scene.
“We always look for people who can keep things fluid,” Jonum said. And while “before it’s too late” is definitely a wild, immersive album, the group is careful to not stray too far from making bangers. “We want to get mainstream at some point but we want to navigate it uniquely in our own way,” he continued. “Once we make it you can conform so easily but we want to be sure we still stay unique.”
I first heard “before it's too late” late one Saturday night in Jonum’s studio. As I rode up the Hollywood Hills, past the gothic glitz of the Chateau Marmont and the strangeness of the Celebrity Scientology Center, I finally arrived at a mecca for dozens of up-and-coming artists. It’s here, between LA’s most glamorous and gritty parts, that Jonum’s studio has become a gathering place for several up-and coming artists from, Semmi to jason chu, who look to him for his brilliant production.
“Oh shit,” he said when I told him I hadn’t heard much of the album yet. He cranked up the studio’s speakers.“You’re about to get put on!” It was the last few weeks of summer, and there was a frenetic, rowdy energy to all of the songs that reminded me of early 2010s indie stalwarts like Wavves or The Dirty Projectors.
The songs released on “before it’s too late” are largely unchanged from what I originally heard. Tracks like “whereami??” capture the energy of being too turnt up at a party, thanks to Jonum’s high pitched background vocals and the strange, repeated lyrics. But I also appreciated the music that leans into melodic harmonies like “misery” or “fuji film”.
Like the best summers, “before it’s too late” rages until things fall apart. Halfway through the record, the music suddenly slows down. The party ends and the boys go home where they’re left alone with their thoughts. Tracks like “green hills” or “dear universe,” show an unexpected tenderness from two dudes who sometimes crack a joke to escape their pain. “Lost in the clouds where I’m gray,” Jonum sings in “dear universe,”. “I’m lost where I dream of the day…” Here, they’re not summer degenerates, but boys who are left to grapple with what’s to come after the best season of their lives.
Much of Townewst’s lore, particularly on “before it’s too late”, is up to your own interpretation. “We wanna make a statement without having to look like we’re doing it too hard,” Jonum explained. “We want our work and visuals to show how serious we are. We want the music and visuals to be so undeniably good that it makes people pay attention.”
Bouquet hopes too, that through the music, people will see something deeper in themselves. “I wanna make shit that makes people realize we’re all humans,” he said quietly. “There’s a lot of demonizing going on right now and I hate that. I want to push [empathy] with music.”
Townewest knows that they’re not like other bands. They’re not idols; they aren’t supermodels. But they are authentic, and that is likely what is connecting them to a fast growing fanbase. Most groups take years to build the kind of fan base Townewest has. “But we got it pretty instantly,” Jonum said. “And that’s insane.”
Townewest sees themselves creating a movement of empathy, experimentation – and above all – damn good art. Bouquet was more straightforward in his interpretation of their potential. “I don’t think a band can change society,” he said, “but I think it can help.”
