The latest single from South London's Pynch, "Post-Punk / New-Wave," is a sly homage to making music amidst chaos, heart-on-sleeve, and utterly irresistible. It's the first nosh from their forthcoming sophomore long-player "Beautiful Noise" out through their own Chillburn Recordings, and if this one is any indication, the noise is indeed beautiful.
Beneath the cheeky genre shoutout of its title, something far more layered lurks. "Post-Punk / New-Wave" doesn't aspire to be a retro homage or revival, it feels more like a spiritual wink to the greats, drawing on the restless side of New Order and the dreamy textures of Blur. But it is still undeniably Pynch, sincere, charming, and earnest. Penned and produced by frontman Spencer Enock in the band's Brixton bedroom studio, the track feels like a fly-on-the-wall confessional. No traditional chorus is in sight, but it floats on a buoyant riff and deadpan vocals that catalog the highs and the discredit of making art in the digital age. Homework is a pop song without a pop chorus.
It's a great preview of "Beautiful Noise" an album that the band has described as their most ambitious and personal work to date. Where 2022's Howling at a Concrete Moon dealt with political frustration, this record turns inward, focusing on love, mortality, and the pursuit of meaning. If "Post-Punk / New-Wave" is the flag, it's waving in praise of the small triumphs of DIY music-making and the mere fact of being alive to still do it.