Every time Energy Whores return to our space, it feels like a reunion with a band that has not only carved out their corner in music but has also become a part of our extended family of artists who speak truth without compromise. This New York–based band has pushed against the grain of mainstream music, blending art rock, electronic, pop, and folk into a genre-defying and gut-piercing sound. With “Pretty Sparkly Things,” they remind us once again why their work matters. Released on August 15, this is not just music, but cultural resistance. Let’s delve in below.
The song doesn’t waste time easing in from the start with pulsing. Synth layers ripple like neon waves, while sharp percussive textures snap against the groove, creating a soundscape that lures you to move before you realize what’s being said. This is a masterclass in contrast: the glittering production seduces, while the lyrics slice deep.
Vocally, they deliver with a mesmerizing blend of cool detachment and biting satire. The performance feels deliberately hypnotic, almost trance-like—“Pretty sparkly things, watches, and rings. Shiny bling, fancy bobbles made for queens”—as if mimicking the empty glamour of consumer culture while simultaneously exposing its rot. This vocal delivery becomes perfect for the song’s unapologetic bite. The mockery in lines like “influencers with their photo filters, with lip puffing crap” and “spoiled girls clutching their pearls” lands with extra weight precisely because it’s sung with that sly, understated sneer rather than shouted. This is a performance that understands restraint can be more cutting than rage.
Lyrically, Energy Whores is at their sharpest with this song. They drag the false idols of our age—celebrity excess, billionaire indifference, social media vanity into the spotlight with merciless clarity. The lines sting because they are so close to the world we know: “Penthouse on Park Avenue, with a great view. Forget about it, you could never live there. You’re working two jobs, cracking under pressure.” These words don’t only describe inequality; they embody the crushing weight of it, delivered over a beat that refuses to let you sit still.
The production is layered with intention. The bassline throbs with urgency, the synths shimmer like a polished showroom, and the beats crack like a whip. At times, the instrumentation feels almost too perfect, like the glossy surface of the very “sparkly things” being critiqued—only for the lyrics to shatter the illusion. That tension—between glittering polish and raw truth—is where the track finds its power.
Energy Whores has once again shown that their music is confrontational as well as entertaining. This song serves as a reminder that, despite the world’s obsession with “shiny bling” and “diamond collars on their cats,” deeper realities are being overlooked. Energy Whores will continue to be a voice we can’t stop listening to because of their ability to capture these thoughts in striking imagery, strong lyrics, and genre-bending sound.
Listen to “Pretty Sparkly Things” on Spotify
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