Pinkshift Lets Us In With "Earthkeeper"
- Samantha Blyn
- Sep 16
- 2 min read
Baltimore punks Pinkshift released their second album, Earthkeeper, on August 29 via Hopeless Records. Its individual elements are exactly what fans would want from a Pinkshift release: Myron Houngbedji’s tight, punk drums, Paul Vallejo’s catchy, hardcore-leaning guitar riffs, and of course, Ashrita Kumar’s soaring vocals. But a deeper listen reveals the album to be a step in a slightly different direction for the band.
Kumar is not one to mince words when it comes to writing songs with political themes. Tracks like “Love It Here” and “Evil Eye” are lyrically in-your-face, and that’s in part what makes a great punk song. Sonically, these are two of the songs that incorporate more hardcore elements than previous Pinkshift releases. The guitars are louder and lower, and the drums move the songs forward with more urgency, punctuating lyrics about surveillance, violence, and feeling consumed by the state of the world.
Through that feeling of being overwhelmed, Earthkeeper takes listeners on a journey of self-discovery. The thread that ties the entire album together is the theme of finding power in grief. Whether it be collective grief resulting from the seemingly endless cycle of global tragedies, or grief felt due to a personal loss, Ashrita’s lyrics serve to remind listeners that grief begets more than just sadness. On the song “Don’t Fight,” the complexities of moving through grief are highlighted sonically when guitarist Paul Vallejo sings a calmer refrain that contrasts with Kumar’s pleading screams.
At their in-store performance at Repo Records in Philadelphia the night before the album released, Ashrita spoke candidly about the grief that informed much of the writing of Earthkeeper. They talked about losing their grandmother and how the pain of that experience evolved over time. The vulnerability with which they spoke was striking, and having this context going into my first listen of the album made it all the more powerful. The song “Patience” in particular, stands out from the rest not just because of its slower tempo, but because of how directly it references Kumar’s loss. They sing about “having dreams/of someone that I knew,” and ask “can you…fill the room with/your color again?” The song is a beautiful tribute to a grandmother by a grandchild who just wanted a little more time.
A personal standout is “Freefall,” which has a distinctly more pop-punk sound than much of the record. Reminiscent of Pinkshift’s early hits, its cheerful melody is paired with lyrics about feeling inadequate compared to your peers: “everyone’s got it great/they all know something I don’t.” It’s always nice to know you’re not the only one. If, like me, “Freefall” makes you want to dance, catch Pinkshift on tour this fall. View their full schedule here.
