The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Month
  • Books + Movies
  • About
16
new
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: ONE IN THE CHAMBER – “CROOKED GIRL”
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: AWAKE & DREAMING – “COLD SHOULDER”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: HAIR CONTROL – “SEEING IN THE DARK”
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES- TEN
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA – COHERENCE
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEAD HORSE BEATS – CHILLING EFFECT
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: TRASHCAN SINATRAS – EVER THE OPTIMIST
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: STEVE HACKETT & STEVE ROTHERY – THE ROARING WAVES
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MICHAEL HAMPTON – KING KONG
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JON ANDERSON – OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE DURUTTI COLUMN – RENASCENT
SPILL CONTEST: WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE BENEFIT CONCERT ‘LIVE LOUD’ IN SUPPORT OF MENTAL & SUBSTANCE USE HEALTH AT MASSEY HALL ON SEPTEMBER 10!
SPILL NEW MUSIC: NEW RELEASE FROM THE BEATLES “MICHELLE – TAKE 1” | SPECIAL EXPANDED EDITION OF ‘RUBBER SOUL’ OUT OCTOBER 2 ON APPLE/UNIVERSAL MUSIC
SPILL NEWS: PINK FUZZ TO TOUR WITH THE WELL IN OCTOBER | NEW SINGLE “MANIPULATOR” OUT NOW
SPILL NEW MUSIC: MATT LANGE ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM RELEASE WITH ‘RECOVERY’ | A COLLECTION OF 13 ORIGINAL SONGS & INSPIRED REIMAGINATIONS OF WORKS BY NINE INCH NAILS, MAZZY STAR, FAILURE & SLEEP TOKEN
SPILL FEATURE: ONES: THE BEATLES #1 HITS – A CONVERSATION WITH FRANK ZIRONE
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Month
  • Books + Movies
  • About
  • Spill Menu
    • Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Festivals
    • Portraits
    • Headlines
      • News
      • Contests
      • Events
      • Entertainment Headlines
      • Concert Listings
      • Toronto Concert Venues
    • New Music
      • Premieres
      • Track Of The Day
    • Track Of The Month
    • Books + Movies
    • About
Album Reviews
2
293
previous article
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MC FRONTALOT - NET SPLIT, OR THE FATHOMLESS HEARTBREAK OF ONLINE ITSELF
next article
SPILL FEATURE: WORDS AND TOURS - A CONVERSATION WITH MIKE WARNE OF PKEW PKEW PKEW

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JUSTUS PROFFIT – LA’S GOT ME DOWN

Justus Proffit
LA’s Got Me Down
Bar/None Records

For his previous work on various L.A. band EP’s and DIY solo projects, 26-year-old Justus Proffit has received startlingly good reviews from various respected outlets such as the New York Times, Pitchfork, Paste, and Stereogum, and once again he has delivered a solid album on his first full-length label debut.

Proffit who started playing in bands at the age of 13 and began touring at 16, plays all of the instruments on the 11 tracks that are included in LA’s Got Me Down, and is assisted in the production only by Producer/Engineer Alex Resoagli.

The first single, “Painted In The Sound”, is a nice piece of jangly rock, and “Shadow Of The Cross”, which boasts a killer chorus, Proffit equates to his own “Back In Black.” Other standouts include “Solidified,” “Hold, “and “Closed View.”

Profit credits cutting the toxic people out of his life for his newly-found positive attitude, and he looks forward to getting on with his life, after his tumultuous beginnings growing up, punctuated by the loss of many close friends due to drug overdoses.

This is without doubt a strong debut album, and apart from the odd short instrumental intro that opens the album, it boasts a plethora of fine tunes, fuelled by the artist’s personally difficult time growing up in L.A., the loss of many close friends, and battling his own personal demons.



Artist Links

website_flat_2016 facebook_flat_2016 twitter_flat_2016 instagram_flat_2016

Item Reviewed

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JUSTUS PROFFIT – LA’S GOT ME DOWN

Author

Gerry Young

Here's what we think...
Spill Rating
Fan Rating
Rate Here
New Criteria
10
9.1
8.0
Total Spill Rating
9.1
Total Fan Rating
1 rating
You have rated this
Album Reviews
album reviewalbum reviewsbar/none recordsjustus proffitla's got me downpainted in the sound
album review, album reviews, bar/none records, justus proffit, la's got me down, painted in the sound
About the Author
Gerry Young
Gerry Young is President of Current Records and Management, and author of the 2011 biography Pop Goes The Weasel: Rock And Roll Off The Record, available at Indigo/Chapters, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com. He has recorded and managed Juno Award winning bands Martha And The Muffins and The Parachute Club among others.
RELATED ARTICLES
album reviewalbum reviewsbar/none records
 
9.0
Church of Trees
7.5

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES- TEN

by Aaron Badgley on July 31, 2026
CHURCH OF TREES TEN INDEPENDENT Church of Trees is a very prolific band. Since Bernard Frazer introduced the band to the world in 2017, they have released nine albums. Ten is their tenth, and, to date, their best. Although Frazer has been the [...]
 
7.0
Cindy Blackman Santana
5.5

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA – COHERENCE

by Gerrod Harris on July 31, 2026
CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA COHERENCE MACK AVENUE RECORDS Following 2020’s Give The Drummer Some, Cindy Blackman Santana has returned with her seventh solo studio album, Coherence. The album takes a distinct turn towards contemporary jazz fusion, [...]
 
8.0
Dead Horse Beats
8.6

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEAD HORSE BEATS – CHILLING EFFECT

by Sanjeev Wignarajah on July 31, 2026
DEAD HORSE BEATS CHILLING EFFECT BASTARD JAZZ RECORDINGS Montreal/Toronto’s Dead Horse Beats, brainchild of Patrick Wade, have released its fourth studio album, Chilling Effect. The eight-track album fuses late ‘70s R&B, yacht rock, baroque [...]
 
9.0
Trashcan Sinatras
8.6

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: TRASHCAN SINATRAS – EVER THE OPTIMIST

by Aaron Badgley on July 31, 2026
TRASHCAN SINATRAS EVER THE OPTIMIST TCS RECORDINGS Not only are the Trashcan Sinatras celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, but they are also releasing their first album in ten years. Ever The Optimist is the long-awaited follow-up to [...]
 
8.0
Hackett & Rothery
6.0

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: STEVE HACKETT & STEVE ROTHERY – THE ROARING WAVES

by Aaron Badgley on July 31, 2026
STEVE HACKETT & STEVE ROTHERY THE ROARING WAVES CENTURY MEDIA If you have ever wondered what happens when two guitarists from two different prog-rock bands, both with a prog history in their solo careers, come together to record an album, [...]

Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES- TEN
9.0
7.5
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA – COHERENCE
7.0
5.5
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEAD HORSE BEATS – CHILLING EFFECT
8.0
8.6
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: TRASHCAN SINATRAS – EVER THE OPTIMIST
9.0
8.6
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: STEVE HACKETT & STEVE ROTHERY – THE ...
8.0
6.0

STAY UP-TO-DATE
WITH OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!

SPILL MAGAZINE MENU
  • Home | The Spill Magazine
  • Newsletter
  • Premieres
  • Track Of The Month
  • Album Reviews
  • Books + Movies
  • Features
  • Live Reviews
  • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • News
  • Events
  • Entertainment Headlines
  • Concert Listings
  • Toronto Concert Venues
  • About Us
  • Contests
  • New Music
  • Contributors
  • TOTD
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Scene Unseen
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2026 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SOCIAL DISTORTION – BORN TO KILL
1283
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: SHAMUS – “SORCERESS”
774
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEEP PURPLE – SPLAT!
736
 
SPILL NEWS: SUGAR SHARE NEW SINGLE “KEEP LOOPING”
727
 
SPILL FEATURE: LET’S JUST START AGAIN – A CONVERSATION WITH NICK HEYWARD & LES NEMES OF HAIRCUT 100
651
 
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: THE GUESS WHO w/ DON FELDER @ SCOTIABANK SADDLEDOME, CALGARY (AB)
610
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DOUBLESPEAK – DOUBLESPEAK
538
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KELZ – A SWEET PASSERBY
524
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MODEST MOUSE – AN ERASER AND A MAZE
517
 
SPILL FEATURE: AFTER THE ASTRONAUT – A CONVERSATION WITH KING COFFEY OF BUTTHOLE SURFERS
483
 
SPILL NEW MUSIC: SAINT AGNES RELEASE VISUALISER FOR NEW SINGLE “THE BEAST”
448
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: KYE ALFRED HILLIG – “ON SMALL WINGS”
441
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE LEMON TWIGS – LOOK FOR YOUR MIND!
428
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES