Pinkshift have an ‘Authority Problem’

Pinkshift have an ‘Authority Problem’

 

Band drop new song ahead of UK & European tour with Grandson in 2026

 

Their latest album ‘Earthkeeper’ is out now via Hopeless

“a significant level-up that’s a complex cocktail of rage, vulnerability, and determination”

– Kerrang! ★★★★

“it’s a collective interrogation of grief, identity, and what it means to belong in a world that feels like it’s falling apart.” – Rock Sound

“defiant and self-assured…  it’s the sound of a band coming into its own.”

– DORK ★★★★

“a furious glow-up… Earthkeeper is a call to action for both resisting fascist creep and being kinder to our world” – Metal Hammer

PHOTO CREDIT: KT Kanazawich

 

Over the summer, Maryland trio Pinkshift — vocalist Ashrita Kumar (they/them), guitarist Paul Vallejo (he/him), and drummer Myron Houngbedji (he/him) — released their head-turning new album ‘Earthkeeper’ via Hopeless Records. Get it here.

Today, the band have shared the brand new song ‘Authority Problem.

“Fuck ICE, fuck the left and the right, fuck the false decorum of rules and laws and executive orders just created to make people feel small and helpless. Only I know who I am, and if you disrespect me then I don’t care, you’ll feel my wrath,” the band say about releasing the song in the here and now.

Pinkshift will hit the road this week on a headline U.S. run and are touring the UK and Europe with Grandson early next year. All dates are below.

PINKSHIFT ON TOUR:

10 October — Asbury Park, NJ — Asbury Lanes
11 October — Richmond, VA — Richmond Music Hall
12 October — Carrboro, NC — Cat’s Cradle Backroom
14 October — Atlanta, GA — The Masquerade
15 October — Orlando, FL — Conduit
17 October — Houston, TX — White Oak Music Hall
18 October — Austin, TX — The Ballroom
19 October — Dallas, TX — Club Dada
21 October — Phoenix, AZ — Rebel Lounge
22 October — San Diego, CA — The Voodoo Room
23 October — Santa Ana, CA — Constellation Room
24 October — Los Angeles, CA — The Echo
25 October — San Francisco, CA — Bottom of the Hill
27 October — Portland, OR — Polaris Hall
28 October — Seattle, WA — Neumos
30 October — Salt Lake City, UT — Kilby Court
1 November — Denver, CO — Marquis Theater
2 November — Lawrence, KS — Bottleneck
4 November — Minneapolis, MN — 7th Street Entry
5 November — Chicago, IL — Bottom Lounge
7 November — Detroit, MI — The Sanctuary
8 November — Cleveland, OH — Mahall’s
9 November — Pittsburgh, PA — Thunderbird Music Hall & Café
11 November — Toronto, ON — Hard Luck Bar
13 November — Boston, MA — Brighton Music Hall
14 November — Hamden, CT — Space Ballroom
15 November — Philadelphia, PA — First Unitarian Church
16 November — Washington, DC — Atlantis

WITH GRANDSON:

29 January — Munich, DE — Tonhalle
30 January — Berlin, DE — Huxleys Neue Welt
1 February — Utrecht, NL — Tivoli Vredenburg (Ronda)
3 February — Brussels, BE — Ancienne Belgique
6 February — Münster, DE — Skaters Palace
7 February — Copenhagen, DK — Amager Bio
8 February — Hamburg, DE — Docks
18 February — Milan, IT — Magazzini Generali
19 February — Lausanne, CH — Les Docks
20 February — Zurich, CH — X-TRA
21 February — Wiesbaden, DE — Schlachthof
23 February — Paris, FR — La Cigale
24 February — Cologne, DE — E-Werk
26 February — Manchester, UK — Academy
28 February — Birmingham, UK — O2 Institute
1 March — Bristol, UK — Electric Bristol
2 March — London, UK — O2 Forum Kentish Town
3 March — Glasgow, UK — SWG3 – Galvanizers

PINKSHIFT ONLINE:

Instagram  |  Website  |  Spotify

ABOUT PINKSHIFT + ‘EARTHKEEPER’:

During a pit stop while travelling between shows in 2023, Pinkshift found a huge fallen redwood tree. Vocalist Ashrita Kumar (they/them), guitarist Paul Vallejo (he/him), and drummer Myron Houngbedji (he/him) lay down on the trunk, staring up at the canopy of leaves from the trees around them. What followed is an experience Kumar describes as almost psychedelic. They felt as if the trees were inviting them to stay there forever. “I heard these voices telling me that I’m welcome here,” they recall. “And everything I could ever want is in this space.”

‘Earthkeeper’ is a record that bursts at the seams with big riffs, big feelings, and big ideas. At its core is a spiritual being whose name gives the record its title — “a reflection of universal consciousness and a protector of existence.” It’s a patchwork of anxiety, angst, grief, and hope, juggling experiences both personal and existential across themes such as loss, one’s individual purpose, and what it means to watch the notion of a stable life collapse before your eyes.

Crucially, Ashrita, Paul, and Myron are not the same people that they were when they made their 2022 debut ‘Love Me Forever’. They’ve grown, matured, and been altered by experience. They crafted their debut at a time where they didn’t have as much experience playing live as they do now. “The first album was influenced a lot by stuff we grew up listening to because we’d never really toured,” offers Myron. “It’d really cool that now, after all this touring, there’s bits and pieces of all these bands we wouldn’t otherwise have listened to that have weaved their way into our songwriting.”

Lumped in with an emerging pop-punk resurgence at the turn of the decade that they never quite identified with, they’ve broken out of those confines by writing a significantly heavier record that could not fall under that umbrella in almost any possible way. In some ways, this was a product of their evolving tastes, and a more accurate reflection of who they are musically.

All three of them brought new influences into the studio. “Myron and I got really into Loathe and Knocked Loose,” adds Paul. “It inspired me to pick up the baritone guitar that I had, playing in lower tunings. I love the direction that the metal scene is going in and if I could reflect that in any way with respect to the guitar playing that was going on, I’d jump at every opportunity.”

If there was a mission statement to ‘Earthkeeper’, this would be it. They stand for unity, collectivity, community, and action, but above all, the Maryland trio are hoping their new songs can have a more personal, emotional resonance too. “I think with this record, I’m trying to inspire you to, give a fuck,” Ashrita concludes. “You’re worth giving a fuck about. I feel like people don’t give a fuck about themselves but in the same way those redwood trees told me I’m welcome here, you matter and you belong here.”