Sordid Pink – Sordid Pink
Release Date: 4th October 2020
Label: Bilo Recordings
Bandcamp
Genre: Pop Metal, Progressive Metal.
FFO: Destiny Potato, Periphery, David Maxim Micic, Polyphia, Chon, Tesseract, Ebonivory, The 1975.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
Sordid Pink might not be a name you’ll recognise, but they should be. Formed from the ashes of Destiny Potato, the project between guitar hero David Maxim Micic and Aleksandra Djelmash, Sordid Pink rises like a Phoenix. A very lethargic one, mind you; the second album from the duo has been in the works for a long time. They showcased 2 songs from this album (Drive and Rust) at UK Tech fest in 2016, with the expectation the album was just around the corner. Thankfully, they didn’t pull a Corelia (Google it if you don’t know, you’re in for a wild ride) and released their debut, and also kind of sophomore, self-titled album.
The sound is distinctly different from 2014’s Lun (as Destiny Potato). Sordid Pink takes a much more subdued, poppier approach. Falling is driven by a deep synth warble and a very Hit Top 40 vocal melody, with modern metal production. The drums sound snappy and tight, the bass is fat and angry. Drive sounds like a track co-produced with The 1975, bright chords and warm synths evoke such a summer mood that it genuinely wouldn’t be a massive surprise hearing the track on Capital FM. Saw it Coming sounds like Taylor Swift going through an emo phase. It’s a very stripped back, melancholic song driven by strong vocals. The chorus of Livin’ feels slightly pop punk in its approach; Punchy chords and fast drums that would sound at home on Riot! by Paramore.
At the core however, this project isn’t just a pop project, it’s a progressive metal one too. The deep, gain-soaked guitars and enormous bass tones are as crushing as the heaviest djent bands around, and tracks like Killer and the end of Rust really show the aggressive, darker side of the band. FU, the first single from the album is a very good choice for an introduction to the new sound of Sordid Pink. It captures the playfulness of the riffs with the off-tempo guitar hook and ultra-catchy melodies of the incredibly talented Aleksandra Djelmas.
It absolutely stinks of David Maxim Micic in all the best ways. The creepy fairground vibes and offbeat hi-hat groove in Killer have that signature fun and memorable style. The bass absolutely slaps you in the nuts on Freak!
Taking a step back to look at what the album is holistically is quite humbling. They have taken two genres, metal and pop, generally regarded as polar opposites, thrown them into a pot with seasonings of lo-fi, jazz, pop punk, synthpop and indie and somehow created something without an identity crisis. Bands like Dead by April from Sweden have for years defined themselves as ‘Pop Metal’ and struggled to add anything new to the mix. It’s difficult enough to blend those two cohesively, but Sordid Pink have made Dead by April look like amateurs. Each track on the album has its own flavour, vibe and stylistic uniqueness, yet they always sounds like Sordid Pink. Aleksandra’s recognisable vocals paired with David Maxim Micic’s quintessential approach to song writing has created something truly magical, regardless of what batshit style he wanted to throw into the mix for the hell of it.
If this debut album is the first step on the path Sordid Pink are making for themselves, their future is going to be incredibly bright.
(4.5 / 5)
