Poised for Stardom

Just barely out of teendom, brothers Mikaiah Lei and Anaiah Lei are taking the garage punk world by storm in their group The Bots. Catchy, energetic, and upbeat, the Bots are exactly what the rock world needs right now. Their newest album Pink Palms is an extraordinarily strong record for their age, and is bound to be remembered as one of the best albums of the year. Their sound is so full you’d never believe there was only two of them, and their voices blend perfectly together. Equal parts pop, punk, and dirty garage rock, their unique sound is going to stick in your head for weeks to come.

One of the stand out tracks on Pink Palms is the opening track, “Ubiquitous”. Within the first 30 seconds you will be jumping out of your seat to dance along with Anaiah’s drum beats, and Mikaiah’s voice comes in as the perfect low-fi accompaniment. The Bots cover all sorts of genres in their music. Songs like “All of Them (Wide Awake)” have a fuzzy guitar sound that brings up thoughts of new wave and their cited blues influence is clear in tracks like “Blinded”. To close out Pink Palms, listeners are treated to the Bots’ soft side, in the song “Side Effects.” It seems like these young men can master any sound they want to, and make it sound all their own.

The New York Times predicts that the Bots are “on the cusp of stardom” and after just one listen of Pink Palms it’s not hard to see why. It’s impossibly hard to believe the ages of the Bots, who put out their first record when they were only 12 and 15. Their talent, determination, and innovation are beyond impressive, and young musicians everywhere should be taking note. The Bots are poised to take over the rock world, and we should probably let them.