A month after their first ever UK run in June and a US tour supporting Canadian group PUP this past spring, Baltimore band Pinkshift released two new songs following their 2021 EP Saccharine. As a West Coaster, I feel lucky to have seen them live twice this past year. In October of 2021, I was one of the scattered few singing along in a small club, and by April, I was watching the band instruct a crowd twice that size to scream on demand. They succeeded, rousing teenagers and thirty-somethings alike in the middle of a three-band bill as if they were the headliners.
Singer Ashrita Kumar has a love for authentic dramatics that places the band safely in the pop-punk genre, though the group takes inspiration from post-hardcore, 90s grunge, and Riot Grrl as well. Pinkshift has a habit of dressing their singles in rosy shades paired with knives, pins, and blood, and the discarded Barbie doll on the cover of this release feels right at home. Many of their songs feel akin to throwing a fit — if it was possible to do so with the practice and timing of a professional.
Their debut EP features the band’s breakout single “I’m Gonna Tell My Therapist On You,” a fast and assaulting letter of aggravation penned by someone at their limit and ready for solace. “On Thin Ice” is carried by a steady beat from drummer Myron Houngbedji, soon falling into a sweetly familiar rhythm that we haven’t heard in a new song since the third track off of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (I’m gonna need a cover from these guys ASAP). It’s possible to pay too much homage to older bands, but Pinkshift’s music resurrects the sound that so many of us grew up with without feeling forced or unoriginal. “Mars” is a meandering love song of sorts. It’s nearly four minutes long but steadily builds to an impressive solo from guitarist Paul Vallejo amongst Ashrita’s repetitive and reassuring lyrics.
The band’s new single includes “I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying” and “Nothing (In My Head),” the former of which has an accompanying music video that gives viewers a taste of said stage presence. The energy from Saccharine is still very much there, tiding us over before their upcoming full-length later this fall.
“I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying” is a continuation of Ashrita’s earlier material. Just like in “I’m Gonna Tell My Therapist…”, they’re reminding us of two things: they’re upset, and if their internet humor-inspired titles hint at anything, there might be humor in there as well. “I’m Not Crying…” starts off heavy and fast, with isolated vocals. There’s an apology for merely feeling (“I’m so sorry that you’re seeing me this way/I promise that I’m never like this/The blind hysteria was never on my face/I’ve never shed a tear so violent”) that’s forgotten as soon as the chorus kicks in soon after. Ashrita is tripping over feelings as we all often do in times of distress, while adamant that they’re “totally fine.” The eye roll is felt. Self-aware as they are panicked, Ashrita assures us that they’re rolling with the punches with the indignance of someone who really isn’t. In typical Pinkshift fashion, they’re able to wrap their anger in the pretty package of catchy songwriting while staying sincere.
“Nothing (In My Head)” could be a response to the first track. It begins with an admittance of defeat that we rarely see from the band but is a three-minute-long epic that is anything but. It’s another longer song, one that sees the band step outside of their alternative music comfort zone. While appropriately heart-wrenching, “Nothing” is almost glam in its despair; it could just as easily be found on an older mixtape as it could on a modern emo night playlist. The track is launched by the eerily funny line “I try to stop looking up/It’s been hurting my neck” and sees the band move through and away from that despair; the accompanying music video shows them literally breaking out of straight jackets before playing a festival set.
One of my favorite newer acts upholding the alternative music scene, Pinkshift is capable of more than simple emo revival and dreaded Paramore comparisons. In the time I’ve spent writing this article, the band has added two more songs to the single, securing their place as sweethearts of shameless, angst-ridden rock. “In a Breath” is a softer, heartfelt ballad that features Ashrita on the piano. “GET OUT” is a short romp with few lyrics and a clear message of “get out of my face” to be yelled with glee at their gigs. Pinkshift songs are calculated meltdowns that can be shared between artist and audience, a reminder that emo music is still needed and loved by those over age twenty. Their debut album, Love Me Forever, comes out on October 21st via Hopeless Records.