Pretty Name takes that incredibly evocative chillwave sound of a decade ago with the melancholic 80s synth pop aesthetic and injects it with blown out melodies and a strong, moody bass line. That combination of sounds lends itself well to a song that seems to be about a deep disaffection with the world as it is and not wanting to be a part of a culture that pretends at being interconnected when so many social forces impose ever increasing amounts of atomization in service to the demands of monetizing all aspects of life and our interactions with one another. The song decries the performative aspect of how we’re encouraged to behave and how we’re expected to deliver some aspect of our lives, personalities and aspirations to fit a marketing angle rather than develop organically without having to know what that’s all going to look like or how it has to be that might make it easier to fit into an algorithm. The song’s melancholic flavor and how even its construction of melody colors outside clear lines is an act of resistance to the homogenizing commodification of all things by embracing not being cookie cutter and letting a certain analog fuzziness and humanity be a virtue of the songwriting. Listen to “Threads” on Spotify and follow Pretty Name at the links below. The band’s Horse Music EP released on December 7, 2023.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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