Need to release some primal aggression? Heading to Download soon? Then Teen Mortgage can help you out. The pair package their frustrations of ignorance and greed into high-powered punk that’s both fun and absolutely furious…
“It’s a bit silly, isn’t it?” asks Teen Mortgage’s vocalist and guitarist James Guile. “This ‘fear of the Devil’ shit. He’s just a rude little dude, man. He’s like Bart Simpson.”
Maybe, but the Washington, D.C. duo’s killer debut album Devil Ultrasonic Dream taps into a range of evils – everything from the fascist agenda and the military industrial complex, to Satanic panic and being hungover at a crappy underpaid job. It’s also about “living your passions”, and not letting “the powers that be get in the way of that”, shot through with an infectious, rebellious spirit.
The band formed when James moved from the UK to America, and connected with drummer Ed Barakauskas through a Craigslist ad. The pair went on to carve out their identity across the DMV area while juggling non-music related work, releasing two EPs (2019’s LIFE / DEATH and 2021’s SMOKED), and wrangling with a pandemic, before they eventually got signed to Roadrunner in 2024.
James previously found employment in retail, while Ed has been a nurse and frontline ER worker. In that sense, they want this band to carry a feeling of “we’re with you guys” for others grafting to stay afloat. Ed was still in healthcare when Teen Mortgage toured with Alkaline Trio, and frontman Matt Skiba (whose mother is also a nurse) passed on support while the drummer worked late after shows and barely slept.
Surprisingly, this is a background that has helped shape Ed into the musician he is today, landing him with “a lot of critical thinking skills”, but also a desire to grab every opportunity.
“Being that close to illness and mortality, it really gave me the confidence to make the leap into this as my main thing,” he explains. “You realise that opportunities aren’t always going to come back around again.”
So far they’ve grasped each chance with clenched fists. With just one album under their belt, they’ve already supported heavyweight acts such as Weezer and The Smashing Pumpkins, and will head to Download Festival this summer for what they promise will be a “very moshy set”. They dream of playing a show at the behemoth that is Glastonbury, and they’re also waiting on a gig at legendary D.C. venue 9:30 Club. “We want to do it right. We want to do it when it’s gonna be a killer show,” Ed says determinedly.
“Punk is so timeless. Our shows have different generations of people and different walks of life, and I think that’s the coolest thing – it will always bring people together,” adds James. “You can show up with your shitty amp and a Squier [guitar] and do a good show. As long as you have a good backbeat and you mean what you say, everyone’s gonna get it.”
Teen Mortgage’s album Devil Ultrasonic Dream is out now via Roadrunner. The band play Download Festival on June 14 – get your tickets now.
This feature originally appeared in the summer 2025 issue of Kerrang!.
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