​Present, the alt-rock/grunge-pop band from the bay area of California have just released their debut LP titled “Silver Lining” and it’s well worth your attention. Present is a female fronted post-grunge / alt-rock band based in the Bay Area, CA. The band brings a modern twist to the 90s and 2000’s alternative rock music of their youth and is spearheaded by lead vocalist and songwriter Alex Hunter. She is joined by lead guitarist Jordan Beaston, rhythm guitarist Craig Tally, bassist Steve Radford, and drummer Daniel Hospitalier.

Being heavily inspired by male-dominated grunge music and 90’s inspired guitar heavy alternative rock and shoegaze, their songwriting emulates and elevates the classic 90’s sound with the juxtaposition of ethereal vocals paired with a wall of distorted guitars and booming drums. The music has plenty of muscle and intensity, complementing the more soothing and impassioned vocal delivery of singer/guitarist Alex Hunter. The new album also follows their 2022 EP titled “I Want” offering up 10 new tracks with a broader sonic palette than their previous effort, including their latest single and official video for “Cave in” which was self-directed, filmed and edited by guitarist and lead-vocalist Alex Hunter and can be streamed below. You can also stream the video of her self-filmed previously released single and album opener "Kill The Moth" below.

This is the kind of emotionally charged 90s inspired fuzzed out heavy grunge pop, that makes even the most avid 90’s fans take note. A strong sense of dynamics, melody, and hooks unify the crunchy driving distortion, well-crafted basslines, and heavy hitting drums. The band’s sense of dynamics doesn’t miss the mark, with vocalist Alex Hunter’s angelic and melodic vocal delivery often journeying into somber passionate moments. Album opener “Kill The Moth” quickly pays homage to 90s acts The Breeders and Veruca Salt, only heavier and refreshed; latest single Cave In” remind the listener of modern day artists Softcult, with its quieter dream-pop like verses erupting into layers of feedback and distortion; the bouncy one-two punch of “Control” into “Glisten” will get the mosh pits moving, and album closer “Confess,” a haunting track layered with acoustic guitars, offers the most tender moment of the new LP and something all their own. Noticeably, this well-rounded album is clearly a love letter to all things 90s grunge and heavy space rock, guitar fueled alt-pop, and shoegaze, but with an even stronger emotional undercurrent.

And while the band may draw its inspiration from originators like Hum, Failure, Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, and Veruca Salt, they’re equally inspired by more recent revivalists like Softcult, Wisp, Narrowhead, Soul Blind, Fleshwater, Downward, Basement, Superheaven, Momma, Snarl and the like, giving them a broad appeal across the adjacent genres they cover in their sound. For an album that’s roughly 32 minutes in length, Present’s debut packs just enough in to make you want to hit the repeat button and listen again.

Make sure to catch Present as they embark on a summer tour with Softcult.

RIYL: Softcult, Wisp, Narrowhead, Failure, Hum, Momma