Ears Wide Open: Indio Downey

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Indio Downey (Photo by Elizabeth Miranda)

After forays into the family business (acting) and as frontman of bands such as the Seems, Indio Downey debuted his solo project last year.

Five singles later, he’s carving out his own space as an alternative rocker with emotional songs cut from the cloth of classic rock, ’90s pop and grunge. Downey’s first solo EP, “Cigarettes in Bed,” is out Jan. 19.

Released in September, “Plastic Rainbow” introduces the EP. It’s a love song with a punky, blues guitar riff and vocals reminiscent of the Dandy Warhols. Downey, the 30-year-old son of Robert Downey Jr., followed last month with the wildly different “Dume,” produced by Dan Omelio, boasting an upbeat rhythm contrasted with disturbing lyrics of addiction and self-destruction (“Drowning in your watery grave / This time I don’t want to be saved”).

“‘Dume’ is about past addiction,” Downey says. “Doom is my biggest fear but within the context of the song, it’s a metaphor for the fatal attraction to self-destruction. I also switched the spelling so that it’s a play on Point Dume in Malibu, which is my inspiration spot. It was produced by Dan Omelio, who wrote the music, and we came up with the melody and lyrics together. He was such a pleasure to work with. I hope people who hear this song remember that there is beauty in the darkness.”

Downey is backed by drummer Jackson Morris and bassist Christopher Mudgett on the EP’s five new tracks. Bryan Allen Lamb directed the video for “Plastic Rainbow.”

||| Stream: “Dume”

||| Also: Watch the video for “Plastic Rainbow”