By now everyone knows about the bleakness lurking next to the glamour of Los Angeles, where the space between abject poverty and untold wealth can be inches.

Justus Proffit knows that world better than most, having grown up in the city’s underground punk scene. A lifer at 25, Proffit started playing in bands at 13, touring at 16, and running his own DIY space by 22. Living and creating on the fringe has deeply informed his work as an artist: two self-released EPs (2016’s Magic & 2017’s UPS/DOWNS), his acclaimed 2018 collaboration with breakout Jay Som, Nothing’s Changed, and never more powerfully than on his debut full-length and label debut, the tellingly titled L.A.’s Got Me Down.