The indie band Pleaser hail from Louisville, Kentucky, but their music is diametrically opposed to that of Knocked Loose (who got their start about 70 miles away). Pleaser’s new single “Degrade” reminds me a lot of prog-pop faves like Peter Gabriel, The Gorillaz and Glass Beach.
Pleaser consists of Collin Bennett and Graham Dickson (with support from Christian Olds on drums). Their first EP Why Aren’t You Any Fun? was hailed by critics and has amassed over 3 million streams to date. Pleaser’s debut album Read The Room arrives May 3.
Bennett and Dickson note that “‘Degrade’ was one of those songs that just came together in about a day. That was a pivotal day for us and the lyrics directly reflect it. Fourteen hours in the studio put this track together. On ‘Degrade’, we had a lot of fun playing with polyrhythms and writing in surprises. The song is a bit progressive, but it’s dressed as pop so we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed writing it.”
Kentucky is famous for its bourbon and horse racing, so I’ll knock back a Maker’s Mark and proclaim that Pleaser is a 20-to-1 shot that’s gonna surprise a lot of people in the EP Of The Year derby.
Listen to “Degrade” below, or find it on your favorite streamer.
Pleaser’s sophomore EP Read The Room drops on May 3.
Follow Pleaser on Instagram.
