If you haven’t heard of Pinkshift, it’s time to change that and there’s no better way than catching them as they roll through The 7th Street Entry on Thursday, October 27th as part of their ‘The Forever Tour’!
Pinkshift aren’t an apologetic band. In fact, they’re a heavy, vehemently unapologetic punk band whose songs rail against prejudice and oppression while also examining in great depth the human condition. And yet Love Me Forever, the Baltimore, MD trio’s debut album, begins with an apology. ‘I’m so sorry that you’re seeing me this way’ spits Ashrita Kumar (they/them) at the start of opener “i’m not crying you’re crying”, the first five syllables unaccompanied by music until the rush of guitars and drums – played by Paul Vallejo (he/him) and Myron Houngbedji (he/him) respectively – kicks in and the song accelerates into a frenzy of raw, ragged emotion (and denial thereof).
From there, it’s a breakneck journey into the heart, soul, and mind of a band that, clearly, have a lot to get off their chest, and who do so just as viscerally as they do emotionally. It makes it even more remarkable, then, that it all began with a Britney Spears song. Back in 2018, Vallejo happened to catch Kumar – who he’d never met before – singing a cappella with a group at Johns Hopkins University. On the strength of that, he asked if they wanted to sing on a cover of “…Baby One More Time”, “There was a group at our school,” adds Kumar, “that would put on music stuff, because our school didn’t have music things unless you played classical music. I love pop music so much so when Paul suggested the cover, I was like ‘Fuck yeah!’
That ‘Fuck yeah!’ became, accidentally, the foundations of the band, and was quickly followed by Houngbedji joining the band – after the other two heard him drumming My Chemical Romance’s “Helena”, knocked on the door and convinced him to join. And while Love Me Forever sounds nothing like either Britney Spears or My Chemical Romance, Pinkshift aren’t afraid to hide their love of pop music or other influences, from grunge to post-hardcore and beyond. In fact, it’s in full force across Love Me Forever’s 12 blistering songs.
Opening the show will be both Yasmin Nur and Jigsaw Youth!
Tickets are still available HERE!
