Premiere: Kyle Duke & The Brown Bag Boys

On Friday September 3, Brooklyn DIY rock outfit Kyle Duke and the Brown Bag Boys make their return to the local stage at Lower East Side's Arlene’s Grocery, coinciding with the release of their latest single “Inbred” that same day.

Drenched in hazy, chorused-out neo-psychedelia reminiscent of the band’s debut Snack Time EP, the single’s slacker rock verses give way to sludgy, riff-centric choruses that match the visceral apathy of its lyric. Duke originally wrote much of “Inbred” while crashing at his home in Bed-Stuy between tours in multiple bands through 2018 and 2019; after a run of shows he would stay inside his apartment for days feeling beat down by weeks of the DIY road grind. Ironically, Duke would go on to finish writing and ultimately recording the single at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, CT during a forced 18-month hiatus from touring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a much darker and more widely relatable context to the song’s themes of isolation and frustration.

Since his band's last performance in early June, Duke has been on the road across the United States playing guitar in BRKN Love, an alternative/hard rock outfit fronted by Toronto songwriter Justin Benlolo. Kyle Duke and the Brown Bag Boys and BRKN Love will be sharing the stage at Arlene’s the first Friday of September alongside London-based indie rocker Tummyache, whose upcoming LP was mastered by Kyle in Bed-Stuy.

The latest tune by Kyle Duke tells a story we can all relate to. In 2020, COVID-19 caused the entire world to close, and everyone's plans were canceled. Everyone's life changed and we all had to adapt to a new world that we never experienced before.

Like anyone creative, we take our experiences and create something instead of being upset. By taking the time to be creative and capture his experience, Kyle has created something that we can all relate to...and it helps us to realize that we are not alone. We're all adjusting to this new world, and it's nice to know that during this time of isolation, we're all in this together.