Written by Harper White
Baltimore four-piece act Powerwasher returned in March of 2026 with the force of heavy machinery on their 2026 EP “Pressure.” The band, made up of Tiger (vocals), Eli (guitar), Spencer (drums) and Kendall (bass), has previously released two full-length albums and another EP. In April of 2023, they came to WUOG’s own Athens, Georgia and performed at Flicker Theatre and Bar in their signature pink jumpsuits (see below), introduced by Sienna Chandler of Monsoon as “f**king awesome.” Halfway through the year, upon re-listening, “Pressure” holds up as a gleaming example of modern off-kilter punk.
Photo from 2023 concert
“Parachute” abruptly starts the EP off and immediately introduces Tiger’s intense, strained vocals, which I would describe as surfer-dude meets metal vocalist. Eli’s start-and-stop guitar during the verses builds to the almost spacey chorus, which is fitting for the title and concept of the song: “I pull my parachute and drop.” The song ends with the screeching sound of feedback.
This same feedback leads the listener into “10,000 Cuts,” my personal favorite track off the EP, and continues in the background throughout the song, adding a feeling of live performance to a project that had much more production than Powerwasher’s previous work. The song has math rock elements, like plenty of Powerwasher’s past work, as well as more hardcore and indie ones. It feels like an early 2000s skate video could be set to the song.
“Mirage” is a dramatic, paranoid track with a lot going on. Two-thirds of the way through the track, rapper RXKNephew takes the reins for the rest of the song. Drastically different from the tracks you would usually hear behind RXKNephew’s voice, Powerwasher’s scattered rock sound goes surprisingly well with it. The bass throughout “Mirage” is simplistic but grounding, which feels necessary in such an out-there song.
With the longest instrumental break on the EP, “3-meo-pce” still maintains high energy for the whole song, via Tiger’s yelling vocals, for which he sometimes has to catch his breath, and the loopy 1 minute 6 second outro.
“Haste” closes “Pressure” as succinctly as “Parachute” opened it. It ends the project on a lyrically pessimistic note, with the line “We have no need for one another,” repeated multiple times, as a futuristic, desperate sound bleeds through with robotic guitar riffs.
“Pressure” is such a cohesive project, despite each song having its own motifs and quirks. It’s emotionally expressive and relatable in a natural way, while maintaining a lot of the classic Powerwasher punk sound. As Eli put it when talking to Arielle Gordon for see/saw, “What if there was a band whose favorite band was the band from the last record, but was not the same band?” I can easily relate this EP to Viagra Boys with their 2025 album viagr aboys, and even local Athens/Atlanta acts like Wieuca. However, Powerwasher has developed a sound that is truly themselves. Despite my comparisons, at the end of the day, the only artist that sounds like Powerwasher is Powerwasher.
Listen below:
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