pinkshift
Pinkshift Previews Debut LP With Piano-Heavy ‘In a Breath’
Ahead of the Oct. 21 release of its highly anticipated debut album Love Me Forever, Pinkshift shows another side of its normally guitar-driven sound with “In a Breath,” a piano ballad showcasing frontperson Ashrita Kumar’s talents. Kumar wrote the song in 2018 but has been saving it until now. “It’s a dive into my core, my greatest hopes, desires, loneliness, traumas, and fears,” Kumar says. “It’s a song about feeling dissociated from my body and fighting to stay alive despite it. It explores the existence of an impossible reality, contemplates the existence of a god and contemplates our capacity to love and be loved. It’s about guilt, shame, redemption and acceptance.” The track’s accompanying video was directed by Sunny Singh, who says, “Capturing the authenticity of a live performance i...
Pinkshift Unveil New Grunge-Inspired Song ‘Nothing (In My Head)’
Pinkshift, which SPIN previously deemed “2020’s perfect antidote of pop-punk angst,” just released their first single, “Nothing (In My Head),” with new label Hopeless Records. The Baltimore-based rockers are following their critically acclaimed 2021 Saccharine EP. “Nothing (In My Head)” swirls with 90s grunge and 2000s pop-punk inspirations for a song about a cry for help. “It’s about the feeling of wanting out,” the band says in a statement, “wanting a change in scenery, wanting to escape from feeling locked inside, claustrophobic, and overwhelmed. This song is like a hand reaching out to anyone willing to grasp onto it and say they feel the same way. We hope people hear that and feel a little less alone.” Pinkshift just wrapped up their supporting gig for Pup on their U.S....
Pinkshift Release Debut EP Saccharine
Self-described “Baltimore shit-stirrers” Pinkshift have released their debut EP Saccharine and it’s exactly the angsty, melodic-punk listeners have been anticipating. The EP features four previously released singles, “On Thin Ice,” “Toro,” “Rainwalk,” and their most popular tune, “I’m Gonna Tell My Therapist On You.” In conjunction with Saccharine’s release, Pinkshift shared a re-recorded version of “Mars,” a song released as a demo in 2019. “I’m Gonna Tell My Therapist On You,” an undeniably catchy tune, went viral upon its release in late July, a few short months after the band’s first tour as a four-piece was canceled due to the pandemic. In an interview with SPIN last year, lead singer Ashrita Kumar recalls a conversation with her guitarist, Paul Vall...
The 20 Most Interesting New Artists of 2020
With most indie venues closed due to the pandemic and many record stores altering their business methods, it was a challenging year for music discovery. Luckily, we live in the Internet age, where a glowing album review, trending social media post or intriguing Bandcamp tag can instantly connect fans to their next favorite band. As the music world remained stuck in quarantine limbo, upcoming songwriters had more time than usual to record, hype, network and livestream — and it’s safe to say we all needed the distraction. To cap off the year’s depressing madness with a glimmer of optimism, we gathered this list of our 20 Most Interesting New Artists of 2020 — from indie-pop to Afrobeat. Where there are fresh sounds, there’s hope. Anjimile The trendy comparison for Anjimile is Sufjan Stevens,...
Meet Pinkshift, 2020’s Perfect Antidote of Pop-Punk Angst
This was meant to be a very different year for Pinkshift. The Baltimore pop-punk band were set to embark on a short March tour, their first as a four-piece, but the pandemic upended their plans. Then a silver lining emerged when their song, “I’m Gonna Tell My Therapist On You,” went viral upon its late July release. The track, which sounds like the lovechild of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge-era My Chemical Romance and early No Doubt, became the perfect angsty antidote to such a challenging year. At the time, the band didn’t have a manager or publicist. They had a hit purely through word of mouth, with musicians like Jeff Rosenstock and Anti-Flag’s Chris No. 2 sharing the tune on social media. It even amassed 4,700 upvotes on Reddit’s r/listentothis. P...
