The Virginia based genre shifters press. are stepping into a new era with the release of press. pack, vol. 1arriving November 21. The collection brings together seven previously unreleased originals, several remixes, experiments, their single “XO (Sold Out),” and their well-loved cover of “Lapdance” by NERD. I sat down with Caleb Taylor, Kevin Taylor, and Matt Burridge from the four piece to discuss and break down how the release was put together, the production and songwriting instrumentally, and the lyrical influences for each of the original and unreleased tracks.
Although much of the material comes from sessions outside of a traditional album cycle, the band rejects the idea that this is a throwaway set of discarded tracks. As Caleb explains, “We didn’t want to necessarily say B sides because it has that kind of connotation of them left it behind for a reason because it was not good enough. When it is like, no, not necessarily.”
Instead, press. embraced the spirit of a mixtape, letting the project develop around instinct, curiosity, and the simple joy of experimenting without the pressure of a traditional album narrative. Kevin describes that freedom as “Anything goes. Having the freedom to feel comfortable to just put some stuff out there that we just think are worth the time of day.” That freedom is reflected across the tracklist, from shimmering emotional cuts to chaotic genre collages to remixes that reshape their own work in unexpected ways.
The mixtape format allowed the band to include songs like “Laminar Flow,” “makes sense.,” “III,” and “I Wish Elijah Would,” tracks that had been set aside at varying stages during previous writing cycles but remained too strong to leave behind permanently. Matt explained that even the placement of the remixes was purposeful. “Kevin was like, I am putting them in the middle. So if you are trying to listen to the whole thing, you cannot just skip the end.” That sequencing turns the collection into a journey rather than a vault dump, allowing every part of the band’s identity to surface.
One of the strongest examples of that intensity appears on “III.,” also referred to as “Untitled III.” Originally written for a post hardcore EP the band shelved, the track became one of the emotional anchors of the mixtape. Matt recalls building the foundation quickly, saying, “I started this one and wrote like the skeleton in like two sessions,” while Kevin later expanded the ending and added rapid kick patterns to heighten the impact. It was finally pushed to finish the song rather than let it sit unfinished, “…..because it [the political reality] “it’s just not getting any better.”
What emerged is the angriest song pulses. have ever made. Kevin acknowledges that “we are pretty angry. We are cursing. Like you got pulses. to curse on an original song for the first time in our ten year tenure.” The lyrical focus stems from political exhaustion and the bleak feeling of experiencing the same national cycles over again. Kevin ties it directly to the first “Untitled,” saying, “The first untitled I wrote because I was drunk as fuck very upset that Trump won… the fact that we are doing it again, we are still here with this shit?” He clarifies that the song does not preach. “This song is not telling me people what to do. It is me even just saying like I do not really know what to do anymore.” Still, he admits the anger is real, saying, “All I know is I think I am pretty fed up with it. There is so much shit going on. You can kind of allude to a guillotine without saying the word guillotine.” Even within the severity, he insists on a spark of humor. “I have to make at least one joke. If there is not one joke on the track…” The line he is referring to is an homage to Luigi Mangione (and Luigi’s Mansion) with, “Stoke the flames to thaw the ice/ Since these leaders act like mice/ Luigi might’ve got the people stoked/ His mansion could use another ghost.” Matt jokingly calls the final product “a political metalcore song,” which fits its weight and its bite.
The mixtape also has some of the band’s most nostalgic and melodic moments. “This Planet Does Not Have a Sun (It Only Has a Retrograde)” draws straight from mid 2000s emo and post hardcore textures. Matt describes it as “very [Silverstein’s Discovering the Waterfront era, clean picking, emo kind of thing with the Kid Cudi, sad… vibe,” showing pulses. using emotional nostalgia as a tool rather than a template.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is “Laminar Flow,” one of the most rap driven and rhythm forward tracks the band has ever recorded. Kevin explains the scientific concept behind the title, describing laminar flow as a state where liquid moves so smoothly that it appears solid. “Everything is working in a way that it flows perfectly and it looks like solid… if you touch it, it will interrupt it… but if you are not touching it, it is just like perfect flow.” He ties this naturally to rap cadence and the illusion of uninterrupted motion. The phenomenon fascinates him because “it is common enough to happen in nature naturally but there is like some sort of glitch manmade element about it that is really cool.”
The song reflects that concept through constant rhythmic shifts. Kevin wrote five verses, all with different flows, and Matt points out that the only borrowed element is a nod to Vince Staples: “The only thing that is lifted from anywhere else on that song is the Vince Staples flow on the ‘I was up late night scrolling’ line.” The band wanted to push back against the idea that rap is nothing more than triplet patterns. As Matt puts it, “That is the only thing people know about hip hop nowadays… throw a triplet flow on there… but that is not everything.” Caleb is clearly proud of the track, saying, “I love it. I think it is a crazy, awesome phenomenon.” Even so, the band jokes constantly about how impossible it would be to perform live. Matt laughs, “We told him [bassist David Crane, who was more of a driving force on the song] “from the beginning… we are never playing this song.” They even imagine a remix version so Kevin can handle the vocals. Despite its chaos, Matt notes that the structure makes sense when experienced as a whole: “They are not random because they all tie together. But if you are playing it by itself, it sounds random.”
One of the most high energy moments on the tape remains their cover of “Lapdance,” originally recorded for The Nu Metal Agenda Presents: “A Christmas F*cking Miracle: 15 Covers And 15 Originals By The New Wave Of Nu Metal.
Caleb calls it “a perfect choice for us” and says recording it was “a blast to do.” Their shared love for Pharrell and the Neptunes influenced the production, with Caleb explaining, “We love Pharrell and Neptunes as producers. It informed so many other things that we can do.” The session even included a moment of pure pulses. eccentricity when Kevin picked up a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy weapon and used it to scrape guitar strings. “We are going to use this. And that is what we used to grind the strings for that ending part,” he said.
The remixes deepen the experimentation further. Matt’s “Run the Ghouls Remix” draws from the rhythm focused sound of modern hardcore. “Turnstile influenced the song, so I was like, OK, well, I am going to do something like that. It just made sense.” He explains that most of the remix was built from fragments of the original track. “Most of the sounds are just like chops of the guitars and the organs used in completely different ways.” Alongside it sits the Eichlers Remix, of “Them Phones,” which adds a hyperpop sensibility and showcases how outside collaborators push the band into even stranger territory.
As you press. mark their tenth year together, their collaborative dynamic continues to deepen. Matt notes that their next full length has benefited from this growth. “Pass the guitar around. Kevin does drums. It just keeps getting better and easier.” That same spirit you define press. pack, vol. 1a project that embraces instinct, humor, anger, experimentation, and the refusal to be boxed in.
press. pack, vol. 1 arrives November 21 and includes seven new tracks, several remixes, two previously released songs including “Lapdance” and “XO (Sold Out),” and a wide range of stylistic ideas that demonstrate exactly why pulses. They remain one of the most inventive and unpredictable bands in their scene.
Find pulses. and their new release at their official website at pulsesva.com.
press. pack, vol. 1 tracklisting:
- XO (Sold Out) ft. Zach Benson
- Them Phones (Eichler’s Remix)
- Of Air and Of Sky
- I Wish Elijah Wood
- makes sense.
- Run The Ghouls (BD LCK Remix)
- Lapdance ft. With Sails Ahead
- Laminar Flow
- III.
- Honesty, Honestly (DJ Zaddy Remix) ft. With Sails Ahead
- This Planet Doesn’t Have A Sun, It Only Has A Man On The Moon (My Call To You)
- Can You Keep A Secret? I really Shouldn’t Be Telling You This
The full interview can be viewed here via The Power/Less Podcast:
