As vicious and raucous as ever, they’re pushing forward this vehicle they created, further exploring the concrete swamplands of modern life in the UK, existing under corrupt power, throwing punches back against it and catching our own inner demons in the swing.
Such a blatant fusing of genre’s is in itself a hill to climb, trying to find the right balance to capture those energies, though many have considered grime to be a new wave of punk, their sonic landscapes are pretty dissimilar. But with swelling bass riffs that strike out in distorted glory, pounding drums beats and smashing cymbals from a full kit, and stark fight the power lyricism on songs like ‘Eat The Rich’ and ‘Move The World’, the band come closer than any other, borrowing from other genre’s that the members have background in, the resulting formula is something other artists just can’t quite touch in the way PENGSHUi can, with influences coming in from the trio’s backgrounds in all kinds of genre, be it dubstep, drum and bass, rock or metal, it’s all here in one way, shape or form.
Two of the more personal tracks on the record ‘This Is My Youth’ and ‘Little Brother’ both dive deep into vocalist Illaman‘s own life experiences, yet their tone couldn’t be more different; one being a vibrant, bouncy recalling of things he enjoyed in his youth, those small pleasures and passions that shaped him, and the latter a moody, downtuned observation of the relationship between the innocent, more pure inner self and the hardened, beaten person the state of the world around him, identifying that those two parts of a person are one and the same, and they belong together in one complete, triumphant package.
The range of musical style is coupled with an equally diverse range of emotive output, there’s a confident swagger present on ‘Break The Law, there’s confusion and desperation with ‘I’m Sick’, there’s pure seething rage on title track ‘Destroy Yourself’, the band have showcased in 12 tracks what they’re truly capable of. If their 2020 self titled debut was an introduction, Destroy Yourself is a demonstration of capability, loudly and proudly snubbing any ideas of the band being a one trick pony, PENGSHUi is more than simply a genre fusion band, they’re here to make statements, they’re here to slay stages, and most importantly they’re here to move minds. There’s politics present on the record sure, but they’re coming from a place of lived in experience, everything present on this record is a deeply personal ordeal, bursting out through the sweltering basslines in a masterful display of vocal styles from Illaman. This record has him singing, screaming, and rapping in varying styles, it’s an impressive display of versatility that often goes unrecognised when it comes to more electronically charged bands.
Destroy Yourself is a step up for PENGSHUi, after an already stellar introduction on their first record they’ve managed to use the momentum they started the launch themselves upwards, with a more comprehensive display of their musical prowess and a focused drive on making meaningful, poignant songs, the band have surpassed their own bar, and yet it still feels like it’s only the beginning for this London trio, there’s more gas in the tank, and pedal is all the way to the floor as PENGSHUi accelerate towards the future.