Ennui-Addled. Lustral. Lovesick. Charming. Compelling. If I had to break down Pynch’s Beautiful Noise down to just a few words, it would be those. Spencer Enock and crew craft a catchy and tight record that borrows from a plethora of influences before settling as a love letter to the indie scene. Sonically, the quartet embraces an understated tone soaked in brittle distortion while vocals dance atop kitchy, delightful basslines and saturated drum machines. If you grew up during the Indie boom of the 2000s and 2010s, this is a sound you would be more than familiar with, but most albums of the time lacked strong songwriting. That’s what makes this album really stand out, its impressively consistent writing. Enock packs all ten tracks with engaging lyrics, intriguing structure, and tons of character, making each listen feel like a phone call with an old friend. This record expertly captures the juxtaposition of a lovelorn character caught in carefree summer. One part nihilistic, one part sappy, and two parts sunny.
Beautiful Noise opens with the thumping “Forever”, a track that basks us in its dazzling intro before Enock litters our ears with striking statements to set the tone. “I’m giving up making plans for forever / I’ll do my best to stick around for the summer”, “Give me a credit card and a good pair of jeans / A revolution in a teen magazine”. This opener expertly positions itself as the thesis for the album in saying, “it’s the summer and I’m looking for love.” The rest of the tracklist follows suit as we see Pynch dissect the complicated nature of love, affection, loneliness, and identity.
“It’s Post-Punk, it’s New Wave with a little bit of Shoegaze / I want it all, I want it all” Lyricist Spencer Enock exclaims at the start of “Post Punk / New Wave”, a short and irresistible tune that evolves as we follow the lyrical parallels between music and relationships. We see our speaker lose a lover and his musical direction as he experiments with different sounds and different people. A very apt and nuanced comparison that makes this track a standout for its themes and engaging construction. “Hanging On a Bassline” sees a snappy drum machine meet a Joy Division-esque bassline as vocals drearily drip pessimistic wisdom into our ears. Lyrics like “I was waiting for something, believing in nothing / I know it doesn’t mean I’ll never dance again / ‘Cause I was young before, it didn’t mean a thing / I was blinded by the sunshine, just hanging on a bassline” mark the first time on the album we experience this unrequited dread. A gothic inclusion that feels dour and despondent, but admirable and campy in its impressive replication of a first love lost and a world crumbling because of it.
“The Supermarket” is by far my favourite track of the album. It feels like a mature response to the prior track. We follow our singer during a eureka moment where they attempt to reconnect to the world around them, following an isolating rabbit hole of “Reading about love online”. They acknowledge heartbreak isn’t the end of the world, but sometimes just a period of “feeling strange”. The group’s impressive build with every section pays off to become one of the most cathartic and well-written tracks I’ve heard this year. The chorus makes me want to scream my lungs out as I get chills with every line. Next, we are greeted with a dancey rhythm and shimmering synths on “How You Love Someone”. Detailing a growing mutual disdain within a relationship, the song just pulls you in with its incredibly sticky refrain. I found myself constantly muttering to myself, “It’s how you love someone,” throughout the last week. I really enjoy the song’s sonic palette as it nicely contrasts against the straightforward rockiness of the former track.
The explosive and contemplative “Revolve Around You” dabbles in the acceptance that failed love was once nice and to reject that, rejects the lived reality, both the good and the bad. Afterwards, we trickle into the dejected and dreamy “Microwave Rhapsody” before being confronted with the album’s title track. “Beautiful Noise” marks the record’s longest cut, coming in at almost six minutes, and you can feel it. This is a song that you can really sink into and features another irresistible chorus to boot. Lyrically, this track brings the story back to its roots, grounding the character in where the story began. What made them start this journey for love, and what headspace were they in when they started it? Sidenote: the second half is home to a very fun duelling guitar and horn solo.
As the penultimate track, “Come Outside” reeks of Post Punk and Surf Rock in the best ways. Enock’s lively inflections match the band’s colourful ensemble, full of steady guitars swaying from optimistic to realistic every few bars. This is another personal standout for me. We see a measured change in our speaker as they seem to reorient themselves towards the sun. We’ve swapped nihilism for a sense of hopefulness. “Don’t you wanna come outside? / We can laugh about the ways we’ll die”. Furthermore, the song itself has such a light, chewy atmosphere sprinkled with just a smidge of familiar melancholy that sits right in that perfect place in my mind. The closer, “It’s Wonderful,” chimes in as a nice bookend to the experience that is Beautiful Noise. Addressing it right away, we hear “I’m not really trying to fall in love / I still wonder if I’m good enough”, and we see that our speaker has finally grown by the inclusion of this acknowledgement. The lovesick character we have grown so familiar with, and at one point or another have all been, finally looks at themselves to fill the hole that they were so desperate to have companionship fill. It’s a short goodbye that wraps nicely back into the first track of the album.
On their sophomore record, Pynch don’t change the world. But they make a really great album that feels true to lived experiences. The ups and the downs alike. One that excels due to its consistent lyrical content and powerful songwriting. A modern breakup album. A mature kind of breakup album, and most importantly, one that I believe people will enjoy, especially as it ages. I cannot wait to see what Pynch do next, but I am keeping my eyes open for any shows as I keep this record in rotation for the foreseeable future.
Written by Lando Flakes
