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Apr 20, 2021 By Caleb Campbell

Matt Graham and Gina Tolentino of Pend have spent years in bands stretching across genre lines, always ending with the pair feeling that their musical dreams were “forever pending.” Seizing on striking creative chemistry, the duo began playing together, recording and playing DIY while taking cues from the soul, jazz, and indie worlds. Those influences, bolstered by Graham’s guitar talents and Tolentino’s soulful vocals, coalesced into the band’s upcoming debut EP Take A Number. The duo have already shared their debut single, “Sidewalk” and are now back with their follow-up “Serpentine,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Serpentine” puts on full display the dual character at the heart of Pend: the interplay between Graham and Tolentino. Graham’s easygoing guitar work serves as a gentle introduction while Tolentino’s lithe vocals gently float over the track. Befitting the track’s title, the languid melodies snake and intertwine together as the pair infuse underlying hints of melancholy beneath the sweet melodies.

Aside from the instrumental’s effortlessly smooth mix of styles, the band also brings that same understated melancholy to their lyrics. As Tolentino explains, “Sometimes you come across someone or something that you know is bad for you, but either you can’t stay away, they keep snaking their way back in, or usually a combination of both.“Serpentine” is a song about trying to let go of a toxic person in your life, but they keep coming back, so you try to stay strong in your resolve to move forward.”

She continues, “Recognizing that you’re repeating similar negative patterns of thinking, acting etc. is something I think most people can relate to, and the song is really about recognizing that it’s happening and breaking out of it. That theme is a big one throughout the EP, and also parallel to our relationship with creating it. It’s almost embarrassing to admit, but it took us almost 3 years to release a 4 song EP! That time was spent learning how to self-record, how to independently release an album, but also working through those negative patterns every step of the way.”

“On a lighter note, this song is particularly unique from the others in that it’s the only one where I play drums! I have about 3 beats that I can play on the drums, so I’m just proud that one of them is actually in one of our songs!” Check out the song a day early below, and watch for the Take A Number EP, coming April 30th.