Never Say Never Reviews

The epitome of the phrase "video killed the radio star," Romeo Void, a new-wave band out of the San Francisco Bay area, was on the rise with their hit "Never Say Never." The risqué lyrics were sung by their lead vocalist, Debora Iyall, a sultry-voiced, Rubenesque Native American woman. But this was 1981,...no social media support, no Spotify or Apple Music here! Just the radio and an up-and-coming cable channel that played "music videos" 24/7. And thus began the band's downfall. Expecting some svelte eye candy, Iyall's looks proved to be something of a turnoff to many and Romeo Void's popularity tanked, leading to their breakup in 1985.

A four song EP that was mostly made to showcase the title song, but you couldn’t blame them. “Never Say Never” is a dance-punk-jazz song from the underrated San Francisco group, and, deservedly, became a New Wave classic. Debora Iyall was a poet and performance artist before becoming a musician, and her lyrics reflect that.

They’re witty, ironic, detached, cynical, and complicated. If their record label and MTV had had the balls to promote them back in the day, maybe we would be talking about Romeo Void in the same breath as Blondie, the Pretenders, and the B-52’s, the torchbearers of girl-fronted New Wave/punk groups. But, alas, Iyall was pudgy, and not “commercial” enough of a look. Sucks for them, they missed out on giving a tremendously gifted singer/songwriter a chance to shine.

Besides, I want you to name all of the Native American punk/New Wavers. That's what I thought. Introduce yourself to Romeo Void with this four song EP, and see why Iyall is one of my favorite women in music.
DOWNLOAD: “Never Say Never”