Recorded in 2016 at GodCity Studio with Converge's Kurt Ballou, TOTEM was promptly shelved as the band (featuring four members of Pageninetynine) went on hiatus. Nearly a decade later, Pygmy Lush is back in action, playing fests such as Roadburn and Dark Days Bright Nights, and TOTEM finally sees the light of day. A monumental album that feels absolutely vital and relevant in 2025, TOTEM melds noise rock, hardcore punk, indie rock, and Americana in songs that stir the blood and haunt the soul.
Stream the album, here: https://floodmagazine.com/199699/pygmy-lush-totem-first-listen/
Buy the album, here: https://persistentvisionrecords.com/products/pygmy-lush-totem
"It’s a great album that sounds as urgent and delightfully out-of-step in 2025 as it would have in 2016. A lot of it is on the heavier side for Pygmy Lush, who formed in 2005 as a folky offshoot of the legendary screamo band Pageninetynine. The folky side is toned down on this one, and in the forefront is a white-hot offering of experimental post-hardcore that kinda sounds like a cross between ’80s Sonic Youth and ’90s Dischord, all done in the way that only Pygmy Lush can."
–BrooklynVegan
"Almost a decade later, this hidden gem is surfacing... an album that sounds like it was made for the relentless chaos of 2025. The experimental offshoot of screamo pioneers Pageninetynine, Pygmy Lush brings together so many layers of genre I can’t put a pin in it — it’s part indie rock, part grunge, part noise rock, part shoegaze, part Americana, and all good."
–CVLT Nation
"Recorded in 2016 at GodCity Studio with Converge’s Kurt Ballou, TOTEM is an unfiltered document of a band at the height of its creative powers. Though it has been shelved for years, the record pulses with a vitality which feels current. A sprawling, genre-defying statement, TOTEM fuses noise rock, hardcore, punk, and haunting quietude into something singular and spellbinding. "
–Destroy//Exist
"Pygmy Lush went into hibernation after releasing their third LP, 2011’s Old Friends, but their decision to reunite last year was met with such excitement that they soon found themselves on NPR, playing the Dark Days Bright Nights festival, and even securing a coveted spot at the esteemed Roadburn. As for TOTEM, Pygmy Lush have said it went unreleased for so long (it was recorded and mixed in 2016 by Kurt Ballou of Converge) simply because the band saw no path forward for themselves at that point. But now they want the record released, so as to properly document Pygmy Lush’s history."
–Flood
"Almost a decade later, this hidden gem is surfacing... an album that sounds like it was made for the relentless chaos of 2025. The experimental offshoot of screamo pioneers Pageninetynine, Pygmy Lush brings together so many layers of genre I can’t put a pin in it — it’s part indie rock, part grunge, part noise rock, part shoegaze, part Americana, and all good."
–CVLT Nation
"Recorded in 2016 at GodCity Studio with Converge’s Kurt Ballou, TOTEM is an unfiltered document of a band at the height of its creative powers. Though it has been shelved for years, the record pulses with a vitality which feels current. A sprawling, genre-defying statement, TOTEM fuses noise rock, hardcore, punk, and haunting quietude into something singular and spellbinding. "
–Destroy//Exist
"Pygmy Lush went into hibernation after releasing their third LP, 2011’s Old Friends, but their decision to reunite last year was met with such excitement that they soon found themselves on NPR, playing the Dark Days Bright Nights festival, and even securing a coveted spot at the esteemed Roadburn. As for TOTEM, Pygmy Lush have said it went unreleased for so long (it was recorded and mixed in 2016 by Kurt Ballou of Converge) simply because the band saw no path forward for themselves at that point. But now they want the record released, so as to properly document Pygmy Lush’s history."
–Flood
"Nine years is a long time to sit on an album. The idea of putting a potentially dated record into the atmosphere of a much-changed world and very volatile 2025 comes off as not only brash, but maybe even downright foolish. However, wiping the dust off and throwing it on, Pygmy Lush’s TOTEM manages to exude an air of freshness, novelty, and beauty through its tasteful songwriting and sequencing, top notch production, and finely honed edge that’s as melodic as it is aggressive... TOTEM is both cacophonous and crooning, flowing from heavy, noise laden explosions to deep breaths of 90s alternative meets contemporary Americana."
–Lambgoat
"Virginian grunge-infused Americana/dark-folk... There are at least four different bands I wish had evolved to this kind of sound, among them Nirvana."
–The Obelisk
"The release of TOTEM arrives as Pygmy Lush recaptures their creative spark, with another new album in the works. And given that information, it’s in part unfinished business, an opportunity to clear the backlog before building something new. But what’s here, however much of a sharp turn away from the band’s gorgeously captured gloom of earlier records, is not only excellent enough to raise the question of why it was ever shelved in the first place but offers a bridge between Pageninetynine’s incendiary chaos and Pygmy Lush’s prettier balladry."
–Treble
"Virginian grunge-infused Americana/dark-folk... There are at least four different bands I wish had evolved to this kind of sound, among them Nirvana."
–The Obelisk
"The release of TOTEM arrives as Pygmy Lush recaptures their creative spark, with another new album in the works. And given that information, it’s in part unfinished business, an opportunity to clear the backlog before building something new. But what’s here, however much of a sharp turn away from the band’s gorgeously captured gloom of earlier records, is not only excellent enough to raise the question of why it was ever shelved in the first place but offers a bridge between Pageninetynine’s incendiary chaos and Pygmy Lush’s prettier balladry."
–Treble
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