Pynch are a true DIY band that have built up a dedicated global fanbase through a combination of tenacity, wistful lo-fi and life affirming lyricism. On their debut album, ‘Howling At A Concrete Moon’, (which dropped in April 2023), they followed through on the promise of their early singles and delivered ten stunning tracks that provide a snapshot of what it is to be young and adrift at this strange junction of history.
For the ‘Howling At A Concrete Moon’ album the band enlisted Stereolab’s Andy Ramsay as Co-Producer and Tom Carmichael (Porridge Radio/Matt Maltese) as mixer who both helped to magnify and enhance Spencer’s home recordings while preserving their lo-fi aesthetic. The result was Pynch exactly as they were meant to be heard; intimate and introspective yet widescreen and danceable.
The London based band formed at university and takes influence from artists such as Pavement, LCD Soundsystem, New Order and The Flaming Lips – Pynch write idiosyncratic pop music for the 21st century. They sonically serve up a heady concoction of motoric drumbeats (Julianna Hopkins), driving basslines (Scott Enock), soaring guitars (Spencer Enock) and melancholic synths (new boy Myles) to create a sound that is steeped in indie and electronic history yet still vitally present. In his lyrics, Spencer searches for meaning while offering dry observations about pop-culture, conspiracies and McDonalds; juxtaposing the spiritual with the everyday to the sound of a slacker synth-pop rhapsody.
Pynch are now set to release their second album, ‘Beautiful Noise’ on 3rd October via their own Chillburn Recordings label (pre-order HERE). Less concerned with making sense of the world around them,
their second full-length shifts its gaze inward, taking a trip though love, death, faith and the pursuit of
meaning through art.
Produced by frontman Spencer Enock in the band’s home studio, with drums recorded by Stereolab’s
Andy Ramsay at Press Play Studios, Beautiful Noise is a lo-fi odyssey that feels both more intimate and
more ambitious than its predecessor. Mixed by Jimmy Robertson (Fat Dog / Los Campesinos!), the record
weaves distortion, new-wave synths, and breakbeats with slacker charm and poetic sincerity.
Throughout the album, everyday snapshots like searching for the perfect pair of jeans or reading
relationship advice on Reddit are set against plainspoken philosophy. ‘Microwave Rhapsody’ ponders the
meaning of life, while the title track poses the album’s guiding question: “Is it all just a Beautiful Noise? /
Daily pain and joy before we return to the void?”.” These juxtapositions form the heart of Pynch’s sound:
intimate but cinematic, melancholic but playful, lo-fi yet expansive.
Just as inspired by Jonathan Richman and Sufjan Stevens as they are Pavement and New Order, the
songwriting on Beautiful Noise is sharper, more confident, and often more vulnerable. This is not a record
of answers but of small moments and big questions. Of spiritual yearning disguised as slacker pop. As
Spencer puts it: “We wanted to make a record that’s authentic and reflective of who we are a band. We
mostly recorded it in my bedroom in Brixton with the help of some incredible people. It’s all about love,
death and the wonder of being alive in the first place. It was a joy to make, and I think you can hear that in the music.”
At its core, ‘Beautiful Noise’ is a deeply personal record made by a band still figuring things out and finding something transcendent in the process.
In support of the new LP, Pynch are heading out on a 10-date UK tour, which sees them calling in at Manchester, Birmingham, London, Oxford, Brighton, Glasgow, Newcastle, Norwich, Bristol and Cardiff. The Brighton concert is being promoted by Love Thy Neighbour and will be taking place on Sunday 19th October at the Green Door Store, with support coming from Oslo Twins and Porchlight. Tickets for this concert are on sale now and can be purchased from HERE and HERE. Tickets for all Pynch shows can be located HERE.
