Get ready for the latest from Eugene Hütz’s Casa Gogol Records, it’s Puzzled Panther! Led by the fierce talent of principal songwriter Victoria Espinoza, the group also features Kay Bontempo, Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Eugene Hütz (Gogol Bordello), and Rob Mellinger (Casa Gogol’s Crazy & The Brains). Despite the all-star lineup, Hütz doesn’t want you to consider this “post-punk Renai-Dance” act to be a “supergroup.”
“Just please don’t call Puzzled Panther a ‘supergroup,'” Hütz says. “If you absolutely must use the word ‘super,’ call it ‘mega-supernova of the super-future.’ Above all, it’s a group with its own core and its own earnest synergies. I love the spearheading energy of building something new, and participating in Victoria’s and Kay’s joyful song-smithery brings the excitement of paving the next step in alternative and post-punk evolution. I don’t think dance punk, shoegaze, grunge, and new-psychodelia ever danced this close together as in Puzzled Panther. And paving this new step together with Brian Chase on drums is such a joyful process. Ever since we rocked some Stooges covers at one party, I knew we had to do something more substantial.”
Yesterday, the group released their sophomore EP Fits of Serenity, which is the lead-up to their performance at Celebrate Brooklyn! with Gogol Bordello and Pons on August 2. Today, they’re debuting the video for the single “Stings of Iodine (Panacea)” off the new EP. With a nostalgic, post-punk melody punctuated by crunchy guitar chords, this is a song that perfectly marries melodic elements with frenetic energy. The video, which takes place on a subway, brings in the ’80s vibe awash in pink light with an aloofness that defines the group’s attitude.
“Puzzled Panther expresses that feeling when you step outside of your house and run into a friend after friend and have the best spontaneous life-affirming time,” says drummer Brian Chase, also of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “You can’t overthink such scenarios—Just let yourself get pulled into the night and onto the dance floor.”
Check out the video below.
Listen to the EP here. Follow Puzzled Panther on Instagram for future updates.
Photo Credit: Kenneth Bachor
