Tony DV channels hard-won confidence into his irresistible single “Buff Boy,” a radiant, open-hearted anthem that finds invincibility not in certainty or bravado, but in faith and hope – a defining early statement from a Los Angeles singer/songwriter whose debut album is built to move with listeners through life’s happy, hard, and ordinary moments alike.

for fans of Adam Melchor, Noah Kahan, Del Water Gap

 follow our Today’s Song(s) playlist

Stream: “Buff Boy” – Tony DV

I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t care, because I am invincible…

* * *

Confidence arrives in “Buff Boy” not as bravado, but as revelation – the quiet, hard-won feeling that blooms when you realize you don’t need certainty to keep going.

Tony DV’s sophomore single pulses with that realization, radiating an elemental energy that feels both deeply personal and strangely universal. It’s invigorating and open-hearted, alive with motion and belief, and anchored by a line that hits like a mantra every time it returns: “I don’t know where I’m going / and I don’t care / because I am invincible.” Few songs capture that feeling of standing at the edge of something new with such clarity and courage.

Burn me at the stake he was a fake
This time I know how I should do it
You smile
Give me like a taste, ok but tell me straight
I know that when you lie you
Just smile

I don’t know where I’m going
And I don’t care
Because I am invincible, yeah
I don’t care where you been
‘Cause I’ve been there too
I have felt all the feelings
Every one of them

A highlight off his brand new debut album I know trash people who keep the oceans clean, “Buff Boy” is only the second song Tony DV ever shared, following September’s striking introduction, “Charcoal Juice.” Together, these tracks marked the arrival of an artist who already feels fully formed in instinct, if not yet in catalog. A Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and producer (née Anthony Davia), Tony DV writes with a rare balance of emotional immediacy and philosophical depth – music that doesn’t posture or over-explain, but trusts feeling to do the heavy lifting.

As he puts it, “I don’t have anything in particular I need anyone to know about me. I think best case scenario is they connect with my album, and it can mold around the details of their lives. It can be a friend in happy, hard, and boring times.”

The spark behind “Buff Boy” came from a fleeting, human moment – one that stayed with him precisely because of its vulnerability.

As Tony explains, “‘Buff Boy’ was written after seeing one of my favorite bands in Brooklyn. The band was great, but what inspired me was this girl in the crowd who was doing a kind of crazy dance. She was trying to make her friends laugh, but they were busy watching the show. I felt bad for her, but also very grateful to have gone through enough life at this point to understand that these moments of pain, shame, or embarrassment are fleeting, like every other emotion.” That empathy sits at the heart of the song, transforming embarrassment into resilience, and awkwardness into resounding triumph.

You pointed your laser focus hocus pocus
On the demo tape
You child
Can’t I be the one?
Now I’m a buff boy I don’t got
Any problems, no problems

I don’t know where I’m going
And I don’t care
Because I am invincible, yeah
I don’t care where you been
Cause I’ve been there too
I have felt all the feelings
Every one of them

Musically, “Buff Boy” moves with a sense of forward momentum that mirrors its message. A galloping guitar line sets the pace, evoking the image Tony himself uses – “a cowboy trudging into new territory” – while his vocal delivery carries both tenderness and resolve. There’s a looseness to the performance, but never a lack of intention; the song surges and settles in waves, always returning to that core feeling of self-belief. “‘Buff Boy’ is the song that made me want to start this project,” he says. “It felt like a new beginning. I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t care. That’s a mantra I strive to live by.”

That sense of choosing hope in the face of uncertainty threads through Tony DV’s debut album, I know trash people who keep the oceans clean, out now. “Buff Boy,” he explains, is “about choosing hope in darkness. It’s about faith,” and it functions as a crucial emotional pillar within a record that grapples with forgiveness, panic, frustration, and the slippery question of what it means to be a good person right now. Even when the world feels incoherent or overwhelming, the song insists on motion – on carrying on anyway.

That philosophy carries through the rest of I know trash people who keep the oceans clean, an album Tony describes with both pride and humility. “I’m really proud of it,” he says. “I think it’s a great listen top to bottom.” Created quickly and instinctively with co-producer Simon Gooding, the record favors feel over perfection, capturing something immediate and unfiltered in the process. “We made the record in four days,” Tony explains, crediting the trust that allowed him to “go for the jugular in the studio,” shaping arrangements in real time rather than polishing them into distance. The result is a debut that doesn’t chase answers or resolution, but holds space for contradiction – balancing conviction with panic, forgiveness with frustration, and the uneasy work of trying to be a good person in a world that rarely makes that simple.

What makes “Buff Boy” feel so special is how unguarded it is. It doesn’t chase cool or irony; it reaches for connection, joy, and belief without apology. Tony DV isn’t offering answers so much as permission – to feel everything, to keep moving, to trust that invincibility can exist alongside doubt. As an early statement from an undeniable artist to watch, “Buff Boy” doesn’t just introduce what Tony DV can do – it sets the tone for everything that’s still to come.

Tony DV recently sat down with Atwood Magazine to talk about the moments, mantras, and lived-in philosophy behind “Buff Boy” – and how faith, uncertainty, and forward motion shape his debut album I know trash people who keep the oceans clean. Read our conversation below – then take the mantra with you. Tony DV is a “Buff Boy,” and you can be one, too.

I take it all, I am ten feet tall
I call you small
I am ten feet tall, I take it all
I am ten feet tall, I call you small
I am ten feet tall
I don’t know where I’m going
And I don’t care
Because I
I’m invincible, oh yeah

— —

:: stream/purchase Buff Boy here ::

:: connect with Tony DV here ::

— —

Stream: “Buff Boy” – Tony DV

A CONVERSATION WITH TONY DV

Tony DV: I don’t have anything in particular I need anyone to know about me. I think best case scenario is they connect with my album, and it can mold around the details of their lives. It can be a friend in happy, hard, and boring times.

Tony DV: Thank you, that’s so nice. I think there’s a happysad or sadhappy quality to that song that exists in all my favorite songs. I also love the AB structure, how it turns on its head halfway through. I think I’ve prioritized that song because it sets the tone of what I’m trying to accomplish artistically with this project.

Tony DV: “Buff Boy” is the song that made me want to start this project. It felt like a new beginning. The galloping guitar; a cowboy trudging into new territory. I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t care. That’s a mantra I strive to live by.

Tony DV: Yeah, basically there was this girl doing a meme dance, trying to make her friends laugh at a concert, but they didn’t notice because they were watching the show. I watched her clock “damn, how do I stop now?” Those moments are like catnip to me. It’s just so human.

Tony DV: I mean, I’m really proud of it. I think it’s a great listen top to bottom. I’m someone who will change it up every record, but always strive to make something that balances artistic quality and entertainment value.

In terms of the recording, I think we caught something special. Huge credit to Simon Gooding, my co-producer. We made the record in 4 days and that was largely because he was at the desk. I knew I could dive deep and go for the jugular in the studio because he was there making everything sound great on the way in.

The process was: I’d wake up every morning and play the album on guitar and piano, voice memo, listen back, and tweak it as a whole piece, rather than demoing and focusing on individual songs. Arrangements were created in the studio, on the spot.

Tony DV: You know, it was just a thought I had on a walk one day that made me laugh. It’s true isn’t it? I think about how to be a good person most minutes of most days, and the weird part is that as I get older, it becomes more and more unclear. It’s hard to consider yourself a good person when you’re complicit in systems that trade acts of evil for creature comforts, depending on where on this Earth you’re born.

It’s a surreal time. The other day my friend was almost hit by a car with no driver, as we were walking back from buying $8 coffee and I was telling him how empty I feel lately. We’re in capitalist hell lol.

Tony DV: “Buff Boy” is about choosing hope in darkness. It’s about faith. A lot of the record deals with that theme, along with forgiveness, panic, frustration. It’s a critical piece of the puzzle.

Tony DV: Whatever they want it to be, however it can serve their lives. I’m just grateful it’s out, ‘cause now I can’t tweak the mix anymore.

— —

:: stream/purchase Buff Boy here ::

:: connect with Tony DV here ::

— —

Stream: “Buff Boy” – Tony DV

— — — —

Connect to Tony DV on
TikTok, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

 © Alex Kennedy

:: Today’s Song(s) ::

 follow our daily playlist on Spotify

:: Stream Tony DV ::