New Music: Mutual Shock – Punishment Enough

Futurepop with a distinctly moody presence, Punishment Enough is full of doubt and maybe despair in the lyrics but balances that with a very focused arrangement.

The solo project of Seattle-based musician Dan Powers has followed up June’s Stimulus Progression EP in great style. Punishment Enough contrasts intense and reflective lyrics with synths that feel analogue in nature but serve to anchor the song in a wistful Molchat Doma meets Boy Harsher groove, one that would go down well in your local dark scene club in the small hours of the morning.

Says Powers about the song, “Written earlier this year, Punishment Enough speaks to the inner critic voice that can be so hard to escape.” He adds, “The cover art is an interpretation of a disciplina, a rope scourge used by religious penitents to self-flagellate in the Middle Ages.”

Punishment Enough and Stimulus Progression can be streamed on all digital platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify, and can be downloaded on Bandcamp. For live appearance and music updates, be sure to follow Mutual Shock on Instagram and Facebook.