By Zach Collier
I remember the very first time I encountered DURRY. I was laying on the couch in my living room, scrolling well past midnight on a stuffy July night. The windows were open to let some cool air in, and the crickets chirped as I basked in the glow of the blue light of my phone. I swiped up on my Instagram Reels to the next video when suddenly I was blasted with something that was very much NOT blue light. It was a mix of hot, intense yellows.
But the yellows weren’t painful. On the contrary. The mix was pleasant, as if someone used the eyedropper tool in Photoshop to perfectly match the color of youthful happiness.
Once my eyes had a second to adjust, I realized it was the light of the sun paired with lyrics in giant yellow block letters, floating in a summer sky. In front of the sky and giant yellow block lyrics stood brother and sister duo Taryn and Austin Durry.
The camera they were filming on was pointed straight up. They looked down at me, as if trying to connect through the world’s tiniest window. The two crowded themselves into the vertical frame with such swagger, bravado, and infectious camaraderie that they turned what is traditionally considered the most unflattering shot in film into one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
I stopped scrolling and unmuted the reel. When I did, I was met with Taryn’s power chords and Austin’s larger-than-life voice belting the lyrics to their original song “Big Boy.” Equal parts self deprecating, humorous, and savagely emotional, the lyrics checked every box for me. I’ve been following them as an avid fan ever since.
“I love that you found us through ‘Big Boy!’” Austin Durry laughs during our interview. “That’s so rad.”
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I’m not the only one to have this experience. 93k TikTok followers, 275k Spotify listeners, and 162k Instagram followers have all had a similar experience, and they all happen to agree with me: DURRY slaps.
Austin Durry is a seasoned musician with a wealth of knowledge and experience from his years touring and recording. And while past projects have definitely performed well (Coyote Kid is phenomenal and absolutely worth a listen) DURRY is the first project of his to really capture viral success. He’s spent years grinding and hustling, and presents himself with down-to-earth humor and humility. It’s a sincere combo you can only acquire from having immense talent, but still having to work your tail off for years while waiting for your big break.
“Ya know, I’ve learned a ton through the years of failure,” says Austin. “That’s what our song ‘Losers Club’ is all about, actually. I think one of the biggest lessons is that nobody is gonna care about your art as much as you do. So when it comes to things like graphic design, videos, social media, marketing, the best hands to do those things really are your own.”
Even though those skills are all outside of the average musician’s primary focus, Austin explains that the vision for your art will always be the most true when you do as much as you can yourself. It’s important to learn as much as you can, and to fall in love with the learning process. “Learning how to learn well is SO important,” he says.
One of the most fascinating and appealing things about DURRY is the juxtaposition between Austin and his younger sister, Taryn Durry. Whereas Austin is studied and seasoned, Taryn is heartwarmingly aloof. Seven years apart, the two market themselves as a Millennial and Gen Z odd couple – and I’d say that’s accurate. For example, the first sound you hear on DURRY’s new album Suburban Legend is the grating sound of dial-up internet. To Austin, the sound is immediately familiar and nostalgic. But Taryn had never heard it before.
Austin’s experience with the band has come about from years and years of hustle. For Taryn, it’s something rad she’s almost stumbled into. In fact, Taryn wasn’t even planning on a music career before getting swept into all this. She was focused on an athletic career as a swimmer.
“Most of my life I saw Austin doing this whole rock band thing and I honestly had no care about it,” she says with a smile. “In hindsight it totally blows my mind that I’m a part of this now, but at the same time maybe it kinda feels like it was meant to be. At the end of the day we’re still just making music in the basement and doing the same things we’ve done since the start.”
Still, it’s been a pretty fast turnaround from playing her first show ever to having things go viral and doing full US tours, including a trip to Utah to play The State Room on November 17. “I think a sneaky stressor can really be the imposter syndrome feelings that creep up sometimes,” she says. “It can be easy to let myself sit in my own thoughts and self doubt sometimes, ya know?”
On the flip side, she says she’s grateful for the unique experience of joining a band without much experience and having it quickly gain attraction and attention. “It’s honestly been really impactful for me to kinda get shoved out of my comfort zone and have experiences and interactions I would never have had otherwise – and just being able to learn so much from so many different people around me.”
As different as their experiences have been, when you put Austin and Taryn together it’s really easy to see why they’re having the success they’re having. They compliment each other so well. Literally.
“Musically, Taryn is the compass,” says Austin. “I kinda tend to just constantly churn out songs. Like literally hundreds. And then Taryn kinda steps in and gives direction to the project as a whole – or new perspectives on song ideas and stuff like that. Or she just flat out tells me if it’s bad. That’s important too!” he laughs. “I think if anything, our strength is in our ability to be brutally honest with each other. I think it’s a sibling thing tbh.”
“Honestly, Austin really pours his whole soul into this band in the best way possible, and it’s his extreme care about it that’s really driven us from the start,” Taryn says. “He backs it up with the years of experience and creative skills from his previous band and I think that perfect little combo of passion and skill set is what can really make something cool.”
They’re definitely making cool things. Fun music videos, bold aesthetic choices, catchy hooks. As much as I love it – I mean, all of that is what got me to stop scrolling in the first place – I feel like the thing that keeps me hooked on their music is when they dive into the dark, ugly, honest corners of their songwriting.
You see, ever since the pandemic, it’s felt like everyone has just been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tensions between countries are escalating if not already outright hostile; there’s a student debt crisis; an affordable housing crisis; racial injustice and rampant government corruption; and to top it all off we’re about to hit election season here in the United States (woof).
All of this has fueled a broader sense of disillusionment and frustration in the world. I’ve definitely felt it as a father of three trying to make ends meet. I feel like DURRY’s new record, Suburban Legend, taps deeply into that loss of faith in society. But then it triumphantly upends the doubt and frustration through sheer force of will. The unbreakable strength of the human spirit. It’s both cathartic and inspiring.
“I really wish we had the perfect answer to all the world’s problems, but sadly we don’t,” Austin says. “But at least we’re aware that we don’t have the answers, either. I think part of what’s connecting with folks is that we’re not some super smart philosopher. We don’t have anything too profound to say, really. We’re just pretty average folks, making music we love, trying to say things we feel are true, and just throwing it at the wall and seeing what sticks.”
Austin is perfectly capturing the collective anxieties of the world at a very particular moment in time. Somehow, he’s found his way into the heads and deep down into the souls of thousands of average, hard-working humans just trying to get by.
“People ask me all the time: how are you writing what I’m thinking?” he says. “And the answer is, honestly, I’m just saying what I’m thinking. Turns out we’re all not really that different after all. I don’t have the answers to the problems any more than anybody else. But I know I survived today, and I’ll probably survive tomorrow, and that’s enough to be thankful for.”
You see what I mean? That’s the down-to-earth sincerity I was telling you about. It’s not an act. As a songwriter, Austin Durry isn’t getting into character or trying to write the next great American concept album. He is literally just some guy doing his best through the pain and singing about it. And Taryn is just genuinely happy to go along for the ride and experience all life has to offer. That authenticity, relatability, and vibrant, grateful energy are exactly what the world needs right now.
“If I can have any little part in helping somebody else live another day of life, that’s enough purpose for me,” Austin says. “Things are ROUGH right now in society, but there’s still joy and hope and peace to be found out there. If we can capture the reality of the roughness, and add in a little spark of hope, then we’ve succeeded. I think that’s the real goal with these tunes. Our whole motto as a band is literally ‘Everything sucks, but it’s ok.’”
I think DURRY is right.
It’s all gonna be okay.
Suburban Legend is out now.
Make sure to follow DURRY on Instagram and check out their music video for “Who’s Laughing Now” below. Get tickets for their November 17 show at The State Room here.