Song Review: Pinkshift - “Home”
August 15, 2023 — Written by Kit Sawyer | Photos by Ashlyn Siples (view the full gallery here)
“when everything is so beautiful and untouched
you know that everyone you’ve ever loved is here
(everyone who’s ever loved you)
they’re waving to you and
they invite you here to meet your end if you feel ready
like a conscious invitation
it feels warm and it feels kind
soft
the comfort of a peaceful passing
onto another realm
to stand alongside them”
A poem written by Pinkshift’s vocalist, Ashrita Kumar, accompanies the band’s Instagram post announcing their newest single. The song is simply titled ‘home’ (written in devanāgarī, as घर) and was released as a full recording on August 4th, 2023.
Up to this point, we as an audience have only been able to hear this song as a live debut, but it’s finally here for us to put through the speakers, and it is absolutely everything that you could hope for it to be!
Coming after their most recent single in April of this year, ‘home’ feels like an incredible follow up to the ‘love song’ that Ashrita had explained 'to me' to be.
“a love song to you, and to everyone you love. our very first love song. the realization that despite everything that is difficult, to be truly loved is to love ourselves.”
That feeling of love is fitting, as the song starts off in something not dissimilar to the sort of low humming undertone one might find in the background of a guided meditation video, with birdsong added on, for effect before the first riff, played by guitarist Paul Vallejo, can be heard fading in.
When the guitar gets louder, the distortion crunches in, and the rolling snare of the drums (Myron Houngbedji) kicks in along with the first distinctive powerchord. It’s a very interesting way to start the build up of a song. That ‘healing frequency’ type of feeling, into something that immediately pulls you into a world of emotion just as Ashrita’s vocals start in on the first verse.
The verse itself consists only of four lines, and there isn’t any bridge to speak of, lyrically speaking, but there isn’t any need for it. The chorus more than makes up for any possible lack of ‘typical’ song structure.
“You’ll never be alone again,” is quite the statement, and Pinkshift’s vocalist most certainly states it. In the past, with other songs in their discography, like ‘GET OUT’, we’ve been exposed to the power in Ashrita’s voice. Given the self-described ‘year of grief, ancestry, and spiritual growth’, it should come as absolutely no surprise to hear the emotions behind the the lyrics in this song.
Pinkshift opening for L.S. Dunes in Cincinnati, Ohio in July 2023. Photo by Ashlyn Siples.
A sudden change in time signature catches the ear after the very first chorus, and that is where the ‘ancestry’ part of this year is seemingly displayed. The band goes from a solid 4/4 time signature into a 6/4, an almost waltzing sort of feel, but something that tends to be used often in South Asian music. This goes right along with the dhol that we’re able to very clearly hear at the end of the second verse.
The cymbals crash through the chorus, where the lyrics have been reversed, but the meaning still the same.
“You’ll never be alone again
I’ll always stay”
My personal favorite part of the song, though, is this musical breakdown post chorus and into a small refrain at the end. The guitar is heavy, and that same riff that we hear chugging at the beginning of the song comes back into play for Paul’s guitar solo, with Ashrita giving chill-inducing vocals over top until it all works its way down into something calmer. A much more subdued soprano for a repeat of the chorus is heard, and we end on the words, “I’m still the same”.
As the music fades, again into those lovely harmonic tones, we hear a vina being played into the last 20 seconds of the song.
All in all? An incredible ride, via lyrics that most, if not all of us can relate to. So long as you have someone that you love, and someone that loves you, home is not a place.
Pinkshift will be releasing prints of their upcoming EP, Suraksha सुरक्षा- which will feature both ‘home’, and ‘to me’- on a limited run of vinyls, which will be available on October 13th, 2023.
Be sure to check the band out on Spotify! If you’re hoping to catch the band live, they have just wrapped up this summer tour opening for L.S. Dunes before they head over the pond to the UK. A tour which they have affectionately labeled Britshift!!
Tickets, and pre-order for the new EP can be purchased via their website.
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