PunkHead Presents: Valvet, The Lunar Keys, and Pacific Avenue
Nothing warms a cold winter day like an emotionally lush track with depth and introspection. In this edition of PunkHead Presents, we selected the hottest indie bands whose new releases will leave a lasting impact on your heart and soul, featuring Valvet, The Lunar Keys, and Pacific Avenue.
Valvet - Mirrors & Ecstacy
“Mountains” is a gorgeously emotional track, where melancholia hums softly and heartbreakingly. Vulnerability meets hypnotic, atmospheric soundscape in Valvet’s latest EP, Mirrors & Ecstasy. “Mountains” is both hopeful and moody while progressing toward a raw intensity — the opening track sets right between a folk ballad and alternative rock. It’s explosive and beautiful at the same time.
“Half Measure” has a similar aesthetic, but with a more urgent beat that drives it into deeper contrasts.
Mirrors & Ecstasy is perhaps the best title for this EP. It communicates the philosophical, vulnerable, and exhilarating experience this EP offers. Valvet surprises you in a way most wouldn’t expect, with their range and pure expansion of sonic palette. Inside the same mood and vibe, they push the track’s emotional volume to see how far they can stray from the original point without becoming something else — the result is something pure and drastic.
The Lunar Keys - “Pure As Your Protocol”
Half of The Lunar Keys’ magic is in JCs’s unfiltered voice. The vocalist in the band has so much attitude in his execution that the vocals tell a story of their own, while the other half of the band expands and situates the raw emotions that bleed through songwriting. Duality comes naturally for The Lunar Keys, who are able to capture so many different sides of a story all at once. “Pure As Your Protocol” is more euphoric and Zen than anything else, but it never loses its alternative rock edge. The song examines the clash between humanity and machines, emotions and cold protocols in the most humanly possible way.
It’s quieter than “Dreams Are Never Spoken” and louder at the same time. With their latest single, The Lunar Keys simply dived deeper both vertically and horizontally.
Pacific Avenue - “Here We Go Again”
“Here We Go Again” is a nostalgic brew that feels both like a reflection and a realization. Soft heartbreak meets a quiet hope. It’s the kind of song that gets under your skin, even if you just put it in the background. “Working Class Hero” tunes up the tempo, where every thread of emotion is louder and more immediate.
The Aussie indie band Pacific Avenue tackles the subject of love with tenderness and vulnerability. If “Here We Go Again” is a whisper, “Working Class Hero” is a confession that simply can’t stay quiet.
