DE'WAYNE - june
DE’WAYNE
june
Release Date: July 30th, 2025
Label: Fearless Records
In the press release that I received leading up to the release of DE’WAYNE’s newest album, june, comparisons are made to artists like Prince, Lenny Kravitz, and Bruce Springsteen, in what has been dubbed a new era for the alt-rock artist. Not even twenty seconds into album opener “lady lady” and it is easy to see hear the influence of legendary artists, particularly the aforementioned Prince. DE’WAYNE - a Houston-raised solo artist based in Los Angeles - steps away from the Warped Tour-friendly alt-punk sound he’s been honing for the last several years and brings in a style that is funkier, groovier, and catchier than anything he’s released since appearing on the scene with 2021’s Stains.
There are so many memorable moments - particularly hooks and choruses - on june that’s it’s damn near impossible to single out one as the star moment. Synths take up spaces where distorted guitars once resided on previous albums, and DE’WAYNE’s harmonies fill the stereo-flanged, tape-saturated audiosphere on songs like the title track, “Sundays”, “Prize Fight”, and “forever”, the latter featuring a well-cast collaboration with I Don’t Know How But They Found Me. Throughout eleven tracks and just barely over 30 minutes,, june weaves between alt-rock sensibilities, 80s synth pop, funk, and new wave. It’s impressive.
The stunning thing about june is that, unlike most phases of artist reinvention, the old stylings aren’t completely thrown out. They’re refined and make his songs stronger than ever - look no further than the album’s midway point, “biological”, as an example of this. The chorus is still the barricade-moving, four-to-the-floor rock style that DE’WAYNE’s previous songs have had, but the result is tighter and more focused. june is a standout entry in a catalog from an artist who has only released three full-length albums, all before the age of thirty. Keep this one on your radar.
