7/10

There’s something undeniably satisfying about a band that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, just straps it to a V8 engine and burns rubber down memory lane. DYSBANDED’s 'The Wilcox Demos' is pure, grease-under-the-fingernails rock grit, forged in the shadow of Hollywood’s once-glorious Sunset Strip and delivered with the swagger only seasoned lifers can summon.

Born from a union of East Coast hardcore heritage and West Coast sleaze worship, this supergroup of Boston punks and L.A. riffers doesn’t posture or pose; they plug in and go. Jonathan Anastas takes the wheel here on guitar, rallying former comrades Jaime Sciarappa and Al Pahanish into the fray, while Johnny “Rock” Heatley and Mark “Muddy” Dutton add gasoline and gloss in equal measure.

These aren’t polished pop choruses or playlist-chasing soundbites. These are songs for midnight barrooms and mornings you’ll regret but never forget. 'Another Broken Night' delivers a bruised romanticism, lifted higher by Kyndal Inskeep’s smoky guest vocals, while 'Bitter' throws a beer-soaked punch straight into your gut. The production, helmed by Paul Mars Black and polished by Howie Weinberg, is loud, raw, and wonderfully unrepentant.

It’s a set of tracks that feels like a shared exhale of old friends jamming out late at night, chasing ghosts from both coasts. There’s no pretense here. No algorithm chasing. Just loud amps, worn-in riffs, and stories soaked in cheap whiskey and LA neon. 'The Wilcox Demos' is the sound of what happens when you lock the doors, turn up the volume, and remember why you started a band in the first place.