Imagine a vintage video shop at night. The shelves are softly lit with blue and pink light, a TV is playing static, and nobody is watching. That's the world that VHS PANTY RIOT creates with the debut EP, "KISS KISS CUT CUT🔪" Five songs that feel like the soundtrack to an unmade movie.
The opening track, "You're Pretty When You Panic", gets started right away. The beat keeps moving, but it feels nervous, like there's something behind you but you don't want to look around. No vocals, but the music speaks for itself.
“I Smile You Scream” combines two conflicting emotions. The song is light and somewhat cheerful, but there is a colder, more driving force pushing it forward. What stuck with me was that contrast. It's a real smile that feels almost fake.
“Heaven Sent Me a Psycho” dives even deeper into that uncomfortable sensation. The tension and quietness come back in for a moment halfway through. Then it returns with even more force. It's the type of build that gradually makes you feel the pressure, but you don't notice it at first.
The EP's centerpiece is the title track, KISS KISS CUT CUT, with its powerful atmosphere. It's sweet in melody, sharp around the edges, and has a never-ending rhythm. It moves between the soft and the hard, never allowing one side to fully rest.
The EP concludes with the same strange energy that runs through the rest of the album, in the final track “Getaways Look Good on You”. The main melody ends in an unexpected way rather than the way you would expect. That little change breathes life into the song and makes it stand out.
The thing that stayed with me throughout this EP is its confidence in its own sound and style. It never attempts to be something it isn't. Dark, playful, and slightly unsettling. It feels even more personal knowing that Nathan Wilde wrote, produced, and created it himself. That's where it remains in my mind. It doesn't intend to frighten you. It just stays inside the strange little world it's created, all the way through.
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