Kent/London-based buzz band Pynch have released their first new music since 2021 and revealed plans to release their debut album Howling At A Concrete Moon on April 14. It was co-produced with Andy Ramsey of Stereolab.
The new single shared with the announcement is called “2009”, and vocalist Spencer Enock says:
“2009 is one of the most personal tracks from the album in a strange way and is definitely one of my favourites. It’s a reflection on being a teenager, skating the days away and being a casualty of 00s pop culture.
“I wanted to try and capture a pastoral naivety in smoking weed and skateboarding and then juxtapose it with more serious reflections on that time of my life. It’s sort of about how hard it can be to make sense of your own life’s journey and the process of trying to reconnect and reconcile with a younger version of yourself.”
We all look back on our teens with a mixture of embarrassment and nostalgia, but with “2009” Pynch dive headlong into those memories as a way of escaping the greyness of today. Enock starts by announcing “I’m gonna dye my hair and listen to heavy metal / and skate down to the edge of the world”, and the humming guitars and lightly propulsive rhythm gives us that feeling of riding a skateboard, casually swerving in and out of people, master of our own little universe. As Pynch indulge in more nostalgia about “the beautiful chaos of it all” there is a wistfulness that permeates the song, the reality of being an adult kicking in – acceptance that most things from that teenage life have been irreparably lost or changed. However, Pynch push that all aside for the finale to “2009”, focusing fully on reliving those teenage dreams and repeatedly announcing “I’m gonna kick it like it’s 2009”. Let’s all join them.
Spencer created the video for “2009” with his brother Scott, and says: “Me and Scott (Enock) shot the video around Margate on Super 8 which was a really fun and rewarding experience. It took a little while but the footage came out beautifully and definitely mirrors the wistfulness of the track.”
Watch “2009” below or find it on streamers.
Pynch’s debut album Howling At A Concrete Moon is out on April 14 (pre-order). You can follow Pynch on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
