Fake Dad, The Los Angeles-based duo, knows one or two things about existential dread, but this time around, they’ve dressed it in fuzzed-out guitars and hypnotic rhythms. Their latest single, “ON/OFF,” is a grunge-tinged meditation on burnout, overstimulation, and the impending necessity to unplug.
Written and performed by Andrea de Varona and Josh Ford, “ON/OFF” serves as both a sonic exorcism and a call to action. De Varona’s voice, part weary, part defiant, rides over distorted basslines and pulsing drum machines, still conveying the raw frustration of a mind constantly bombarded by modern life. “I’ve been drowning in the high. Now I wanna feel low,” she sings, a confession that rings with chilling familiarity in a time of endless scrolling and dopamine overload.
“ON/OFF” grows into a slow-burning intensity with the cycle of overstimulation and shutdown. Swirling synths and grungy guitars crash and tumble over one another, crafting a sound that’s equal part chaos and catharsis. It’s the audio equivalent of tossing your phone into the ocean messy, refreshing, and essential.
Fake Dad have always had a gift for fusing vulnerability with edge, and “ON/OFF” is no different. It’s a song about the sensation of being fried and the need to find something real, a reminder that at some point, the only way to restart is to shut down completely.