Chosen by Monk
The Panamanian heavy alt-fuzz duo are taking us into #PirateMode with this first official taster of their second album, which will see them telling us that we can all come out now when it is released at the beginning of the summer.
The pair – drummer/vocalist Massiel Pinzón and guitarist/vocalist Juan Carlos García de Paredes – told us a bit more about this lead track:
Going into ‘Pirate Mode’ involves thickening one’s skin to better withstand life’s harsher blows. The track features our vocal harmonies, which have become a signature part of our sound, layered atop chunky guitar fuzz and thundering drums that advance forcefully to the pace of two distinct time signatures.
Massiel and Juan Carlos started working together more than 20 years ago when they were both members of the Panama-based alternative rock band Mabí and they’ve collaborated on various musical projects since then. In 2021, following the end of longstanding personal relationships for them both, they found themselves in the studio together jamming and making new music, as a way to help them process the changes happening in their lives. The studio sessions were so successful that AlphaWhores was born.
On the band’s name, Massiel and Juan Carlos explained:
“Our name is a play on words from the Spanish word alfajores, which are pastries very common in South America, a traditional dessert made up of two cookies with a sweet filling in between. The cookies are usually soft and shortbread, and the filling is often dulce de leche, also known as manjar. Alfajores can be eaten as a snack or dessert and are often enjoyed with family and friends. It’s just a joke for whoever gets it, and some people have lol. [We’re] not trying to be edgy or off-putting, rather just silly.
- AlphaWhores kick off a 19-date European tour next week, finishing at The Black Heart in Camden on 26 March:
