"I want you, I / I want you, I / I want you for myself..."
The dreamy crystalline heaviness of "Ugly" by the artful indie rock duo / band Penny Loafer out of Athens, Georgia, and from their upcoming debut EP "Daily Deal" (dropping March 28th, 2025 on Indecent Artistry), is a beautiful example of sonic atmospheres telling stories, evocative stories, vast stories with very little lyrical content. I love the aesthetic here, it is the kind of sound you not only want to bathe in but want to play whether guitar, bass or drums and Emma Barnes' vocal countenance is perfectly placed in this sound floating on top and not buried. I really love the sound of their voice and the way it is stacked in places.
LINER NOTES (bracketed):
[Emma Barnes (Vocals, Guitar, Keys) and Seth Parker (Drums, Percussion) found common ground amongst the bread aisle, both ripe with freshly-graduated angst and equipped with a shared affinity for 90s indie pioneers Sonic Youth, The Breeders, and Fugazi. Days spent scanning scones turned into evenings made making music while dodging noise-complaints in Seth’s childhood home garage outside of Athens.]
[“Ugly”, the second single from Penny Loafer’s Daily Deal EP out February 28th, takes a more moody and longing approach than its more up-beat counterparts on this collection. Barnes' lush guitar swells and stirs under their bittersweet delivery of the trance-like and covetous verse “I want you, I want you, I want you for myself”. The dream pop number recalls vintage classics such as the Beach Boys “All I Wanna Do” as vocal rounds and reverb-drenched guitars emerge in the track's chorus.]
I really appreciate what Barnes and Parker (with co-musicians) are doing here and look forward to hearing the EP in it's totality.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://soundcloud.com/penny-loafer/sets/daily-deal/s-d1wFGb6K7Pu
https://www.instagram.com/pennyluvher/
https://linktr.ee/pennyluvher
https://pennyloafer.bandcamp.com/
Born between the aisles of an Athens, Georgia grocery store, Penny Loafer delivers something fresh on their debut EP Daily Deal, out March 28th, 2025 on Indecent Artistry. More than just half-priced eggs and leather shoes, Daily Deal serves as an apt introduction to the songwriting duo’s “post-college rock” and grunge-tinged pop. A nutritious take on modern indie, Penny Loafer’s Daily Deal is an organic and enriching five song bite that is not only good, but good for you.
Emma Barnes (Vocals, Guitar, Keys) and Seth Parker (Drums, Percussion) found common ground amongst the bread aisle, both ripe with freshly-graduated angst and equipped with a shared affinity for 90s indie pioneers Sonic Youth, The Breeders, and Fugazi. Days spent scanning scones turned into evenings made making music while dodging noise-complaints in Seth’s childhood home garage outside of Athens.
Born between the aisles of an Athens, Georgia grocery store, Penny Loafer delivers something fresh on their debut EP Daily Deal, out March 28th, 2025 on Indecent Artistry. More than just half-priced eggs and leather shoes, Daily Deal serves as an apt introduction to the songwriting duo’s “post-college rock” and grunge-tinged pop. A nutritious take on modern indie, Penny Loafer’s Daily Deal is an organic and enriching five song bite that is not only good, but good for you.
Emma Barnes (Vocals, Guitar, Keys) and Seth Parker (Drums, Percussion) found common ground amongst the bread aisle, both ripe with freshly-graduated angst and equipped with a shared affinity for 90s indie pioneers Sonic Youth, The Breeders, and Fugazi. Days spent scanning scones turned into evenings made making music while dodging noise-complaints in Seth’s childhood home garage outside of Athens.
Barnes and Parker’s collaboration bore fruit in the form of “slice of life” songs, reflecting both the spontaneity and mundanity of a 20-something's days in Athens and presenting it in a pre-proportioned indie-rock package. The resulting product, Daily Deal, is as whole-hearted as it is unrelenting, showcasing Penny Loafer’s keen wit, catchy and dynamic songwriting, and sweet yet sometimes vicious compositions.
Daily Deal’s first single “Fridge” hits shelves January 28th. A chugging celebration of cooling technology, “Fridge” kicks off with Barnes’ tongue and cheek musings, then culminating in a melodic chorus hook over a grooving Cannonball-esque bassline. Penny Loafer contributor and multi-instrumentalist Iain Cooke lays down tasty lead guitar lines, building from spacious yowls and twangy pre-chorus riffs to driving chorus lines and an eventual eruption into complete chaos to close out the track. Cooke, featured heavily throughout the entirety of Daily Deal, contributed bass and backup vocals on “Fridge” in addition to his lead guitar.
Daily Deal came to life in late 2024 at Athens recording studio and boutique label services company Indecent Artistry headquarters, The Eye. Barnes, Parker, and Cooke teamed up with local producer and Indecent Artistry head Adam Wayton to flesh out arrangements, concretize compositions, and collaborate on the project. Barnes and Parker described this recording process as “creatively efficient and surprisingly vulnerable”.
All Penny Loafer Daily Deal singles and EP artwork features visual artwork by the band’s own Emma Barnes. This artwork features mixed media collages reviving slivers of Barnes art-school minor portfolio alongside their current day oil pastel work.
Penny Loafer celebrates the release of “Fridge” with a special on-air performance in studio at Athens GA college radio station WUOG 90.5 on January 28th. The group’s first Southeast tour is slated for April 2025 following Daily Deal’s release. Physical copies on CD will be available at time of release. More details soon…
Daily Deal’s first single “Fridge” hits shelves January 28th. A chugging celebration of cooling technology, “Fridge” kicks off with Barnes’ tongue and cheek musings, then culminating in a melodic chorus hook over a grooving Cannonball-esque bassline. Penny Loafer contributor and multi-instrumentalist Iain Cooke lays down tasty lead guitar lines, building from spacious yowls and twangy pre-chorus riffs to driving chorus lines and an eventual eruption into complete chaos to close out the track. Cooke, featured heavily throughout the entirety of Daily Deal, contributed bass and backup vocals on “Fridge” in addition to his lead guitar.
Daily Deal came to life in late 2024 at Athens recording studio and boutique label services company Indecent Artistry headquarters, The Eye. Barnes, Parker, and Cooke teamed up with local producer and Indecent Artistry head Adam Wayton to flesh out arrangements, concretize compositions, and collaborate on the project. Barnes and Parker described this recording process as “creatively efficient and surprisingly vulnerable”.
All Penny Loafer Daily Deal singles and EP artwork features visual artwork by the band’s own Emma Barnes. This artwork features mixed media collages reviving slivers of Barnes art-school minor portfolio alongside their current day oil pastel work.
Penny Loafer celebrates the release of “Fridge” with a special on-air performance in studio at Athens GA college radio station WUOG 90.5 on January 28th. The group’s first Southeast tour is slated for April 2025 following Daily Deal’s release. Physical copies on CD will be available at time of release. More details soon…
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