Dying Scene Album Review: Pinkshift — “Earthkeeper”

In the description of the album I received, Pinkshift stated they wanted this album to be an inspiration for you to give a shit. An album not to make you think, but to make you act. The opening song, “Love It Here,” contains about twenty seconds of prelude before Kumar begins screaming about the world, its takers, and what you can do to fight against them. It’s a strong start to an album that, I believe, succeeds excellently in its mission to scream a statement out. It brings Pinkshift’s breakneck energy and political voice to a new genre, that of metalcore and hardcore punk.

The band that was partially responsible for the re-emergence of pop-punk as a genre has given a full-throated and delightful rebuttal to that categorization with this album. Their second full length piece, you might’ve caught the few singles released to preempt the full albums release, “Anita Ride,” “Vacant,” and “Reflection” and “Don’t Fight” on a split. Each has a little bit of spice, a little twist on the metalcore genre, with “Don’t Fight” letting the guitarist Paul Vallejo take the vocal lead. His mellow baritone is matched by Kumar’s screaming anger.

It’s supremely hard to pick out favorites on this release. It’s also wonderful that I have the opportunity to talk about breakdowns, because there are some killers here. You can tell the band is so excited to be able to work outside the genre of pop-punk here. I’m pointing at “Patience” and “Spiritseeker,” specifically the latter piece. There are moments where Kumar is allowed lyrically flex on us, their full vocal range stretching out as they sing about the ghosts haunting them. While the lyrics do feel a bit juvenile, perhaps a remnant of the band’s earlier goofy tone being shifted and changed, they manage to stick the landing in the end.

Something that shone out to me during my multiple listens was the precision and skill shown in the instrumentation. Reminiscent of early Cave In, they manage to create a sound that feels like the intersection of punk and metalcore, a sound that’s quite difficult to pin down. It shows growth from their first full-length and is a beautiful maturation of the band from their humble beginnings in Maryland, it shows a dedication to trying something new. The moments where the pulse slows, where the delightful guitar playing is allowed to run free in the center of our ears, when the beautiful vocals hit their full range, is when Pinkshift really gets started.

One of my highlights of the entire album is their first love song, “Reflection.” Pinkshift has always felt tongue-in-check, grinning at the absurdity of it all. Paul’s switch to a baritone guitar along with Ashrita letting us wallow in their melodramatic voice. It washes over you like a bath, a mirror showing how we see ourselves through the eyes of our lovers.

With this release the band has fully shed the pop-punk sheen that they gto popular with. They fully face serious topics, dissecting them with heavy basslines and searing vocals. “Anita Ride” deals with the desire to fully abandon a life that has become grayer and grayer. The political bent of this album is wonderfully crafted, blending it with the trademark highly personal internal dialogs of their earlier works. It’s a fuck you to everything they hate, and a fuck you to the places they were, and a thank you to the places they’re going.

Check it out on August 29th when it releases everywhere.