If obscenity was once infamously defined as knowing it when one sees it, then shoegaze can be playfully described as knowing it when one hears it. So when PANIK FLOWER‘s captivating new single “alkaline” revs up its guitar engine, it takes mere seconds from the start to be transported into the New York City dreamgaze trio’s hypnotic world of calm urgency.
The expansive track dropped yesterday (January 14), offering an alluring sense of longing, and setting a striking tone for the quintet’s forthcoming sophomore EP rearview, out in April. Formed in 2022, the dynamic collective features co-collaborators Sage Leopold (vocals), Mila Stieglitz-Courtney (guitar/vocals), Jordan Buzzell (guitar), Max Baird (bass) and Marco Starger (drums), all combining for a cohesive wave of poignant desire.
“We spent a lot of time perfecting the wall of sound at the beginning of this track – we wanted to capture a certain intensity with this part while also having it be fuzzy and warm,” says Leopold. “The dynamics swiftly shift into a more pared back, sparse instrumental which really plays with this push-pull dualism that a lot of the EP encompasses. You’re then thrust into this super driving chorus. The whole song really has this sense of yearning from instrumentals to lyrics.”
See it, hear it, embrace it, below.
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