Rising Arp: Who Are SCUMBOYS, The Hyperpop & Digicore Crew Of Outlandish Misfits?

SCUMBOYS are a gang of musical oddities (Credit: Elgin Huang Jiale)

Every now and again, you stumble upon lightning in a bottle when scouring through the playing field of local musicians. Frothing pugnaciously from the ether of the scene is SCUMBOYS, a ragtag crew of upstarts out on the hunt like a pack of rabid wolves. Having found their strength in numbers with a more-is-more methodology, SCUMBOYS is an ensemble of producers, vocalists, DJs, designers, illustrators and stylists that’ve left a trail of hype in their unhinged prowls – with past high-energy gigs for Big Duck, Endless Return, SORRY NO CURE and more. SCUMBOYS is straight-up squad goals, if your squad’s all about being unconventional rockstars of the scene.

SCUMBOYS comprises the collective of demostar (the group’s self-professed CEO), together with ITCHYNAPPER, vyn!, jumble, nyaaada and beansclub each with their own fortes and quirks. For them it’s been a nexus of cross-pollinating influences, and it shows not just in their visual language and absurdity of their shows, but their multidimensional sound that spans hyperpop, digicore, pop-punk, hip-hop and EDM. For a violent crash course, look no further than their latest debut album titled CORPSE PARTY that’s a bonanza of their mish-mashing ideas.

SCUMBOYS shows are known for their balls-to-the-wall energy (Credit: Elgin Huang Jiale)

Like on “OTOXOTTO”, you have an overblown rampage of pulverising kicks and chainsaw synths that hit with hardstyle heft. “GREASY” is essentially a punk rock number put through a cybernetic filter and cranked up to the max. “B.I.P.U” is a distorted electronic amble with slurry autotuned hip-hop vocals. While “MRWORLDWIDE” smashes a new-age techno pulse with chaotic hardcore screeches. CORPSE PARTY is an unforgiving cranial burst, a stab to the heart, a reset to your system. And if you think that’s absolutely scummy of them, their irreverence has shown that they probably don’t give a crap.