{"id":273,"date":"2022-12-07T16:53:46","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T16:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/?p=273"},"modified":"2022-12-12T23:57:15","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T23:57:15","slug":"pinkshift-on-entering-their-emotionally-shredded-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.goucher.edu\/revelance\/pinkshift-on-entering-their-emotionally-shredded-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Pinkshift on Entering Their Emotionally Shredded Era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alli Rose<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Leigh Ann Rodgers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Frontperson Ashrita Kumar demanded the crowd at the Ottobar to \u201cscream out all the bullshit.\u201d The audience unleashed a coordinated scream, blending low yells and shrill-pitched shrieks in a chorus of noise that rattled the space. This moment from their opening night of the Love Me Forever <\/em>tour and release show in October was the crux of their new album: catharsis through sound and movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting emotionally shredded, to me, means gaining emotional intelligence, being a lot more self-aware, and making decisions in my life that are good for me. But also, being able to say \u2018no\u2019 and set boundaries,\u201d shared Ashrita Kumar, frontperson of Pinkshift, on a cold and wet Tuesday evening over Zoom. Despite the gloomy weather and slow day, the members of Pinkshift brought an unafraid and engaging vulnerability to our conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pinkshift is a Baltimore band combining sounds of ’90s grunge with contemporary hardcore into authentic songs that make a listener want to yell the lyrics and move their body. The collaboration between vocalist Ashrita Kumar (they\/them), drummer Myron Houngbedji (he\/him), and guitarist Paul Vallejo (he\/him), results in a powerful chemical reaction that animates their listeners. After the release of their 2021 EP Saccharine<\/em> (Ashrita describes the EP as the band\u2019s \u201csilly era\u201d), Pinkshift has experienced exponential success; touring in the UK, signing to Hopeless Records, and recording their full-length album Love Me Forever<\/em> with Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip (who has worked with Mannequin Pussy, Tigers Jaw, and Turnstile). With the release of their album, Pinkshift screamed across the U.S. in a whirlwind tour that kicked off in their home city of Baltimore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love Me Forever<\/em> is a charged album, with lyrics written by Ashrita that chronicle their experience of personal turmoil amid our fucked-up world. On track four, \u201ccherry (we\u2019re all going to die),\u201d lyrics are in conversation with one another. \u201cEverything\u2019s going to be okay \/ it\u2019ll never be okay\u201d is a mantra echoed by a background chorus yelling, \u201cit\u2019ll never be okay.\u201d The song ends with Ashrita\u2019s laughter, a sound familiar to those who giggle anxiously at inappropriate times. The aptly-named fifth track, \u201cthe kids aren\u2019t alright,\u201d is musically fast and heavy without being overwhelming, but Ashrita notes that it\u2019s \u201chard as fuck to sing.\u201d Ashrita also describes \u201cthe kids aren\u2019t alright\u201d as a \u201cwar cry,\u201d containing lyrics that they feel are the best they\u2019ve written so far. There is something that strikes a chord of generational solidarity when I hear the line, \u201cI\u2019m losing my mind \/ the world\u2019s ending all the time,\u201d since our generation has witnessed police brutality, natural disasters, mass shootings, a pandemic, and yet we have to carry on \u201clike normal\u201d despite perpetual crises. Yes, I\u2019m losing my mind. \u201cTrust Fall,\u201d track six, is a personal favorite from the album, a deliciously vengeful song about reclamation in killing your abuser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the raging catharsis that is \u201cTrust Fall\u201d comes \u201cin a breath,\u201d a piece that stands out on the album as Ashrita performs on piano alone. At the live Ottobar show, Ashrita nervously admitted, \u201cI\u2019ve never played piano for a crowd before,\u201d as their bandmates set up a keyboard and mic for their solo performance of \u201cin a breath.\u201d The previously raucous crowd cooled, hanging on every elongated note that Ashrita sang and played. They skillfully shaped their sound, playing with fluctuations in volume and tempo that provided enough novelty to keep the audience tuned in. The audience waved their phone flashlights in time with the song. At the end, Paul jumped up and wrapped Ashrita in a hug as the crowd whooped and cheered. Myron grabbed his sweat towel for Ashrita to wipe their eyes. \u201cI feel lucky to feel vulnerable,\u201d Ashrita sighed, regaining their composure. \u201cThe support we get from Baltimore is unbelievable.\u201d It was a tender moment, providing the audience a brief relief to catch their breath, and the song has the same function on the album as it did in the live show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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