A childhood friendship formed in a Miami Beach elementary school art club laid the foundation for the eventual 2014 Miami New Times "Best Band in Miami" -- garage rock duo Deaf Poets. Drawing comparisons to Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and Dead Weather, singer/guitarist Sean Wouters and Argentina-born drummer Nicolas Espinosa excel at volume and attitude, of course, but also display a surprising adeptness at crafting emotionally revealing material, exhibiting enough songwriting skill and depth to inspire adoration from their heavily EDM & hip hop-leaning hometown.

The pair have been on a tear since autumn, hitting their stride in September when their single "Degenerate Mind" appeared on the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 Soundtrack. They followed that up with a well-received performance at South Florida's III Points Festival in October, with Consequence of Sound calling their set “rocking…[and] a nice reprieve from the electronics.” A month later, they opened a couple of Florida shows for Matt and Kim, and closed the year amassing material for their next album as they prepare to hit the road this winter.

Check out their tour dates below, along with music video “Degenerate Mind,” recorded at Bull Pro Productions in Miami. Singer/guitar player Sean Wouters told Miami New Times about the track:

 It's a song about being spontaneous...It's rebelling against what we were always told: that education is the only way you can be successful as an adult. Music is fun, it's cute, but it's not a job. The only way to succeed is to be a music teacher. The song's about that not being true. The lines 'Flat face never did me much/cause lost my space' is a play on me being Asian and the expectation that I have to be smart.

Video: "Degenerate Mind" 
Members: Sean Wouters (guitar), Nicolas Espinosa (drums)
Links: Smallish Music Group / bandcamp / facebook / twitter / instagram / youtube