PANGS
As the world scratched their head in the aftermath of what happened on election night & reckoned with what it all may mean for the days & next four years to follow; PANGS nursed our collective hangovers with the world premiere of their new single “Do Better” that attacks the patriarchal coliseum pillars with a radical & human approach with earworm hooks galore. Lindsay & Nick duet where every word is matched with a glamorous beauty on the beat style that indulges in the most luxurious & effective electronic instruments for maximum pop punch. Like every new single that arises from the PANGS/NUDITY camp, the crew carries forth their electric torches toward progressive grounds of thought, enlightenment, echelons of self-betterment while forever condensing & distilling arrays of influence into maximalist artifices all of their own.
“Do Better” operates on a buzz-saw guitar scuzz effect that is applied to the track’s rhythmic core as PANGS unleash their Wild at Heart-esque intentions of thrill-seeking radicals that operate like anti-establishments students in revolt. Nick starts the track off on the warpath with a fury that rages against the malevolent machines in fine form & fashion right before Lindsay follows up on the next verse with a shared energy where they become a Bonnie & Clyde force to be reckoned with like a current day Gainsbourg & Bardot or Beatty & Dunaway. The production on “Do Better” also speaks to the economies in arrangements & mixing where PANGS take all aspects of the delivery & execution into careful consideration where every uttered note feels like it is exactly where it is intended & appropriately purposed. We have said it before and we have said it again, but PANGS’ string of output & hints of an upcoming album have made them not only one of the top Nashville acts to watch out for, but their ear opening proliferation in our opinion has earned them a top spot as possibly one of the world’s most important acts that are poised to be larger than life.
PANGS’own Lindsay & Nick provided us with the following exclusive words all about the angst, ambitions & more that informed “Do Better”:
In the wake of the agonizing campaign and election we’re as resolute as always to acknowledge and call out cruelty, division, fear, tribalism, hubris and inequality now and going forward. We will not accept these things as the new normal, or an inevitable part of electioneering, or anywhere near our or others’ daily lives. Friends with minds and conscience, be together. This feels lonely but we are far from alone. This week hate found hope, but we will not let it flourish.
We had planned to hold onto “Do Better” for an album, but feel an urgency this week. Complacency is not okay. We want to encourage the pool of motivational art necessary to move into the future and out of the past. So this is our humble offering.
The song is for anyone who’s ever been condescended to; told they can do better when they might do best to defy that very voice. If you’re not pushing the hell back, we recommend it. We need kindness to ourselves and others to prevail, but it ain’t just naive love. We’re fucking angry and will absolutely channel that into loving, expressive things.
—Linds and Nick (PANGS)
Lyrics:
under glass, wings pinned back
be my lead hammer headbanger on a warpath
run the streets to beat the blast
only weapon’s every second better than the lasteyes like revolving doors
stay awake cos i wanted more
went from hated to accolades
it’s not your fault lines just the way the world’s made
___________hearts attack we’re cardiac
beauty on the beat ya better step back step back
summer heat on your back
sweating bullets, gunning for ya in a Cadillackeep your cash gimme the car keys
middle finger to your patriarchy
say your prayers, all the best
won’t take back what you said
___________yeah yeah I can do better
yeah y’know I get confused
yeah yeah i can do better than you!
PANGS also recently recorded a single dedicated to all refugees seeking asylum titled “Home On The Range” that provides an evocative & heart-felt twist on an old Americana standard. Lindsay’s sharp harmonies fosters the eternal classic into a lullaby for all displaced/misplaced persons everywhere where we are reminded that we all deserve asylum somewhere in this super weird & short of stable world that we enjoy.
Also check out Pangs redux of their beloved NUDITY single “Supernatty” that continues to keep all those ghoulish Halloween feels fanning freely in the most supernatural & mystic of manners.
PANGS’ new single “Do Better” is available now via Bandcamp.
