“We love Philly! We always have a good time when we play Philly,” says Baltimore trio Pinkshift, who we first met in 2022 – when they were on the road supporting other phriends of PHILTHY, Destroy Boys – and are gearing up for their second and third appearances in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection of 2025, which you may have heard about on the August edition of Philthy Radio (now streaming), which featured a block of songs that kicked off with recent single “Don’t Fight” (featuring guitarist Paul Vallejo singing the choruses), followed by a trio of tracks from artists that the band has shared stages with in the 215: Mannequin Pussy, The Linda Lindas, and aforementioned Destroy Boys.
This April, Pinkshift – who have historically been categorized as “pop-punk,” which both the band and fans consider to be largely inaccurate – opened Union Transfer for The Linda Lindas, and this Thursday (8/28), the day before sophomore LP Earthkeeper (their second for Hopeless Records) hits shelves, they’ll be doing an acoustic set and signing to promote the album at our very own Repo Records. “We’re really excited to share these songs in more stripped-down versions. We feel really blessed to be able to do this,” they tell me of their three upcoming in-stores this week. “We can literally talk to everyone and chill with everyone who is there. It’s nice to have the opportunity to talk to everyone about the new record. At a normal show, after you play, you’re sweating and you’re like, ‘That was awesome, but I need to get some air!’” jokes vocalist Ashrita Kumar.
Earthkeeper, which drops August 29th, is the follow-up to 2022 debut LP Love Me Forever. And the band tells me that, instrumentally, the album leans into both Pinkshift’s old and new influences, the former of which does include some pop sounds (The band did muse, via Twitter, about putting Taylor Swift on their guest list at a hometown show at The Crown in Baltimore while the pop star was in town to see her bf play the Ravens.), while the latter includes recent metal and metal-adjacent acts like Loathe and Knocked Loose. The group considers the finished product to make for their most sonically diverse release yet. They also tell me that the songs were largely built with live jam sessions, as opposed to relying on computers.
According to Pinkshift, the biggest difference between writing and recording Earthkeeper and their first LP is the whirlwind touring the trio did in-between. “You have to actively process things, or at least make an effort to try, instead of trying to escape and distract yourself… If things are off, its going to be very apparent,” says drummer Myron Houngbedji of learning to live full-time in a van with his bandmates. “The dynamic had to be more like coworkers, because we are coworkers, and having to be cognizant of that, but not fall into just being coworkers,” adds Vallejo of the balance that Pinkshift learned to achieve as both “coworkers” and artistic collaborators, going on to say, “The thing with Earthkeeper, if there’s some idea Ashrita comes up with, we would consider it and think, ‘What is their story and how do I connect with it?’ so the song is taken to a point where we all felt heard.” “That feeling of wanting to be grounded really creeped its way into this record,” explains Kumar.
Following their in-stores this Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday (in New York, Philthy, and Baltimore, respectively), Pinkshift will be playing CBGB Festival next month in Brooklyn — where they’re especially amped to see Jack White and Lambrini Girls (“I’m really excited to see Jack White! I’ve had his discography on my phone since I was a teenager,” says Kumar, before adding, “I’m excited to see Lambrini Girls. I discovered them recently, before the new album came out, and their shows looks fucking insane!”), in addition to getting to catch up with their buddies Destroy Boys and The Linda Lindas — before kicking off about a month and a half of headlining dates throughout October and November.
The second-to-last night of the headlining tour will have Pinkshift returning to First Unitarian Church, with LustSickPuppy and Combat providing support, who Kumar tells me are friends of the band and well worth getting there early for: “We’re really happy and excited that they’re down to do it, we’re really excited for all the artists… LustSickPuppy’s not afraid to be weird and shocking, and I think there’s a weird crossover between their fans and our fans… Combat, we actually share a practice space with them in Baltimore.” Pinkshift tell me that they’re really excited to get a chance to play all of the Earthkeeper songs on these dates and that they may even try out programmed lights for the first time. However, they’re also just enthused to be returning to the legendary DIY punk venue, which they’re honored to have already headlined once for one of their phavorite local shows yet: “It’s truly a rite of passage!”
*Preorder Earthkeeper through Repo Records to guarantee priority entrance on 8/28 here.
**Get your tickets for 11/15 at First Unitarian Church here.
***Listen for Pinkshift on the Halloween edition of Philthy Radio, 10/17 on Y-Not Radio, and listen to their appearance on the August edition of Philthy Radio here.
