On October 21 Baltimore’s Pinkshift will release their debut album Love Me Forever. Today they share a new taste of the album via the latest single “in a breath.” The band is known for crafting music that is equal parts pop-punk and 90’s era grunge, and the song – a tender ballad featuring Pinkshift’s Ashrita Kumar at the piano and on vocals – shows another side to them, exposing the powerful vulnerability that drives the band’s creativity behind their usual breakneck melodies. Written by Kumar in 2018 they say:
‘in a breath’ is from my heart. It’s a song I’ve held on to for years. it’s a dive into my core, my greatest hopes, desires, loneliness, traumas, and fears. 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 video for “in a breath” was directed by Sunny Singh (aka hate5six). Fresh off documenting the Rage Against the Machine Reunion, Singh’s first proper-music video is a change of pace from their popular YouTube channel which has gained acclaim documenting the hardcore-scene live. They say:
Capturing the authenticity of a live performance is what I’ve always been drawn to. It’s the space I’m most interested in exploring and refining. It’s also the reason why I’ve turned down every offer to do a choreographed and scripted music video. With ‘in a breath,’ I set out to create something that would allow me to render their live performance into something cinematically organic.
Ashrita’s talent as a vocalist and pianist radiates outward in this song, so I wanted to produce a visually minimalist piece that kept them at the center and instead drew its dynamics from manipulated camera motion. What emerged is an uncut, orbiting shot around them and the piano, the parallax creating a gravitational force between the viewer and Ashrita’s burning sincerity for 287 seconds.
Pinkshift is Kumar (vocals, they/them), Paul Vallejo (guitar, he/him), and Myron Houngbedji (drums, he/him). To date they have shared Love Me Forever’s already critically acclaimed singles “nothing (in my head)” and ‘i’m not crying, you’re crying,” and “GET OUT.” On October 20 the band will head off on a North American tour in support of the new album. They play in Los Angeles on November 5 and Brooklyn on November 17. All shows are listed below and tickets are available here.
Pinkshift have been making their mark both in the U.S. and across the pond since forming in 2018, thanks to a string of critically acclaimed singles, and tours with the likes of PUP and Mannequin Pussy. They eschewed plans for medical school and chemical engineering to pursue music, deliver powerful messages, and show fellow POC artists that they can and should take up space in a predominantly white music scene, and the result is one of the most inventive bands in the punk scene today. Their forthcoming debut album, Love Me Forever, was recorded by Will Yip (Turnstile, Mannequin Pussy, The Wonder Years, Circa Survive, Tigers Jaw) and over the course of its’ 12 blistering songs, Love Me Forever completely unleashes the full force and fury of the band.
PRE-ORDER LOVE ME FOREVER HERE
PINKSHIFT TOUR DATES
10/20 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
10/21 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd
10/22 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Roboto Project
10/23 – Cleveland, OH – Mahall’s
10/25 – Detroit, MI – El Club
10/26 – Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge
10/27 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
10/29 – Denver, CO – Lost Lake
10/ 30 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
11/01 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
11/02 – Portland, OR – Mission Theater
11/04 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
11/05 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
11/06 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
11/08 – Dallas, TX – Ruins
11/09 – Austin, TX – Empire Control Room
11/11 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
11/13 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
11/14 – Nashville, TN – Drkmttr Collective
11/15 – Charlotte, NC – The Milestone Club
11/17 – Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere (Zone One)
11/18 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
11/19 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
Love Me Forever Track Listing:
1. i’m not crying you’re crying
2. nothing (in my head)
3. GET OUT
4. cherry (we’re all gonna die)
5. the kids aren’t alright
6. Trust Fall
7. in a breath
8. Cinderella
9. BURN THE WITCH
10. Love Me Forever
11. let me drown
12. Dreamer