Last year, Allons’y by Dudeo Perez was released and I happened to be browsing at the right moment. Hearing that album was a strong start to the new year. Well, this year is not much different. Dudeo Perez are back at it again, this time with King of Last Year.
King of Last Year is a full-length 11 track album that is start to finish energy. Exactly what you’d expect from Dudeo Perez, a band that made a name for themselves for their lively house shows in San Luis Obispo.
Dudeo Perez consists of four members: Jackson Reynosa (vocals/guitar), Noah Boland (vocals/guitar), Spencer Cefalu (bass), and Jackson Morris (drums).
I asked the band what they hoped to accomplish with King of Last Year and how the band has grown since the release of Allons’y last year, here’s what they had to say:
We simply had a bunch of songs, and we wanted to put ’em out there. At the time of the recording, we had definitely started to take playing as a band more seriously, and I think the album reflects that seriousness.
The band has grown a lot since the release of Allons’y. In terms of musicianship, the songwriting became a bit more serious than kinda raw and punk feels like the first album. In my opinion, Spencer (bass) and Jackson Morris (drums) also stepped up to the plate big time and demonstrated greater creativity, skill, and confidence on this album. (i.e. Jackson’s drum fills at the end of “Jester”, Spencer’s bass lines in “Predispotion” and guitar solo in “Come As You Please”).
But more importantly, this album challenged us as we dug deep to bring the best out of ourselves. In doing so, the process helped to remind us why we love making music, which is essentially just to create something cool that didn’t exist before.
In a recent interview, the band answered what the name Dudeo Perez means to them:
The name Dudeo Perez stems from a childhood alter ego that one of our band members created when he was in elementary school. In essence, Dudeo Perez represents the underdog, the dark horse, and that one person who is very underrated in every aspect of life. Dudeo lives in the shadows and doesn’t ask for the attention, but is always nice to all, and is genuinely a great friend for anyone to have. Our songs resemble the feelings and perspectives of Dudeo Perez– from songs that capture the imagination of childhood to the struggles and perks of getting older.
Dudeo Perez are a band that are doing it all for the right reasons, the love of creating and the love of music. You can hear it reflected in everything they’ve released to date, and I hope that you support them in their journey.
Find the band on instagram: @dudeoperez or on Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube.
Read more about the songs I love on the homepage.