Brooklyn’s finest, and one of Punkaganda’s household names, Jhariah Clare has blessed the scene once again with their newest track “Eat Your Friends” featuring Baltimore punk hit-makers Pinkshift. It was only a matter of time before these east coast besties brought their unique sounds together to bring this rowdy punk-electronic coalescence into fruition.
This punchy track was written shortly after Jhariah had finally crossed paths with Pinkshift back in 2020. “Eat Your Friends'' serves as an hymn to the struggle that Black and Brown musicians face in the music industry— or of any industry. As both band’s careers were starting to pick up and brought new challenges that their white peers didn't relate to. This comes as no surprise to us; Black and Brown folks have to constantly tokenize themselves to be granted opportunities and feel that they have to fight one another for said opportunities.
"There’s a constant frustration about how few opportunities there are for people that look like us and how we're often pitted up against each other for them." - Jhariah
With a title like “Eat Your Friends’ it only makes sense for the track to begin with chaotic finger dancing from the bassist and guitarist like an intimate tango between rivals. Shortly after the drums join in to continue building the anticipation in unison. Around 30 seconds into the song we’re greeted by the vocals of Jhariah at the first verse, immediately swinging the track from punk into a mix of theatrics.
Not surprising as this is what makes Jhariah’s music so unique to them; constantly breaking the borders between genres, yet always paying homage to the theatrics. As coined by Jhariah: No Genre, All Drama.
Further into the track, we are met with vocals by Ashrita that really hone in the punk grunge sensibilities that make this song so jaunty and guttural. Between harmonizing and throwing a screaming match, we are reminded of the overall thesis of this piece. In times where Ashrita and Jhariah harmonize, the idea of coming together and sharing their experiences within the music industry (dare I say, trauma bonding..) is what’s being symbolized. On the other hand, when both vocalists are playing tug of war, the symbolism of rivalry and needing to compete against each other, is what’s being presented to the listener.
"You feel like there's so little to go around," Jhariah says. "I'm a very competitive person, but also, I don't want to be in competition with my friends. I want to be doing this together. It's a very tricky thing." - Jhariah
This track is an absolute dream cross-over episode for us at Punkaganda, and it could not have turned out any better. We have been watching both bands grow over the past few years. If listeners are going to take anything away from this track, I hope they get a glimpse into the perspective of being a black or brown person within the music industry, and the competitive nature of that career path.
Stream “Eat Your Friends” Now!
