Last updated: 13 hours ago
Pretend Chess slowly coalesced somewhere between the aisles of the Moog Factory Store in Asheville, North Carolina and the dorms of UNC-Chapel Hill. Throughout college, Sydney Gallek and Will Cole honed their wistful flavor of melancholic indie pop, culminating in their self-recorded debut album <a href="spotify:album:6ErMN4a6BST02nVuXkihjR" data-name="Crime">Crime</a> (2018).
The duo combines glitchy textures and unconventional instrumentation to craft weary pop songs. Tracks like “<a href="spotify:track:6XIaiMDDLy1fhYqSC0XyBv" data-name="Now That You're Gone">Now That You're Gone</a>” and “<a href="spotify:track:4EhMWOjSTtObyFxWSXvcYO" data-name="The Fall">The Fall</a>” showcase the band’s knack for crafting melodramatic arrangements, resulting in compositions that are simultaneously gloomy and cautiously optimistic.
Syd and Will are inspired by an eclectic list of artists, from the heart wrenching songcraft of <a href="spotify:artist:0mEF6nwliNqJuMldWFPuvo" data-name="Land of Talk">Land of Talk</a>, to the hyper-polished pop productions of <a href="spotify:artist:163tK9Wjr9P9DmM0AVK7lm" data-name="Lorde">Lorde</a>, to the endlessly imaginative hip-hop of <a href="spotify:artist:5F3fDx84RYnmx0FGZeRtSF" data-name="Serengeti">Serengeti</a>. They are now working on new tunes, splitting their time between Nashville and Raleigh.
Their new single, “<a href="spotify:track:0gplWEkIvlbLIAfAMDNYmw" data-name="Landmark Motor Hotel Song">Landmark Motor Hotel Song</a>” is out March 12.
The duo combines glitchy textures and unconventional instrumentation to craft weary pop songs. Tracks like “<a href="spotify:track:6XIaiMDDLy1fhYqSC0XyBv" data-name="Now That You're Gone">Now That You're Gone</a>” and “<a href="spotify:track:4EhMWOjSTtObyFxWSXvcYO" data-name="The Fall">The Fall</a>” showcase the band’s knack for crafting melodramatic arrangements, resulting in compositions that are simultaneously gloomy and cautiously optimistic.
Syd and Will are inspired by an eclectic list of artists, from the heart wrenching songcraft of <a href="spotify:artist:0mEF6nwliNqJuMldWFPuvo" data-name="Land of Talk">Land of Talk</a>, to the hyper-polished pop productions of <a href="spotify:artist:163tK9Wjr9P9DmM0AVK7lm" data-name="Lorde">Lorde</a>, to the endlessly imaginative hip-hop of <a href="spotify:artist:5F3fDx84RYnmx0FGZeRtSF" data-name="Serengeti">Serengeti</a>. They are now working on new tunes, splitting their time between Nashville and Raleigh.
Their new single, “<a href="spotify:track:0gplWEkIvlbLIAfAMDNYmw" data-name="Landmark Motor Hotel Song">Landmark Motor Hotel Song</a>” is out March 12.
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