Pennies By The Pound present invigorating 'Burning Wish' single, channeling fab British prog rock

June 25, 2022

"Big and extravagant classic psychedelic rock.... this is brilliant music for here and now, wherever that may be" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"A trippy ride that recalls the familiar vibes and sounds of none other than Bob Mould, The Church / Marty Willson-Piper, Marillion and Jethro Tull. Yes, all of them. Loads of flair and professionalism from the band" ~ Amplify Music Magazine

"Indeed a wonderful affair... Pennies By the Pound should be on everyone’s radar as a must-have album of 2021 and a band to watch in future" ~ The Record Stache

Finnish prog rock outfit Pennies By The Pound are back with their new single 'Burning Wish', an invigorating sonic offering and beautiful expression of optimism and adventure, channelled through the prism of fantastic British progressive rock. It will be released on June 8 via the Lilith label. This is the first taste of their sophomore album, expected later this year.

Once again, the band worked with Ride frontman Mark Gardener, who mastered the track at his OX4Sound Studio in Oxford, and top national producer Rauli 'Rake' Eskolin. With over a dozen No.1 records in Finland to his name in the past 20 years, he also produced, recorded and mixed their 2021 record 'Heat Death of the Universe'. Both the album and its singles - 'Indigo Screams' and 'The Waters'- were critically acclaimed.

Hailing from Helsinki, Pennies by the Pound was formed in 2016 by Johannes Susitaival as a solo project, but quickly expanded, involving musicians from his past bands. Their unique sound blends '80s prog rock and '90s-early '00s alternative rock. Heavily guitar-driven with a touch of keyboards, they love big choruses, guitar and keyboard solos, bridges and grandiose arrangements.

While still in a punk rock band, Johannes began exploring quite different musical avenues, which led to Pennies By The Pound's self-produced 'Bloodshed and the Blinding Sunlight' EP in 2018. Having found their ideal producer, they recorded demos in 2019, but only recorded their debut album in late 2020.

"Sometime last year, as it seemed that the pandemic would not be over anytime soon and it was apparent we wouldn't be able to focus on playing live shows for a while, we decided just to keep recording more music. Luckily, I had quite a lot of inspiration for new material and we started putting songs together in late summer, with Alexander Meaney joining in as an additional guitarist. Although it doesn't necessarily show in this particular song, I'd been immersing myself heavily in Genesis (both Gabriel and Collins eras), and that influenced the up and coming album - called 'Nothingside' - a lot," says Johannes Susitaival.

"This is a concept album through and through (both lyrically and musically), containing an abstract story and all that. Thus, it was really hard to decide on any one song to represent the whole, but 'Burning Wish' probably hits closest to the mark. It has got bits and pieces of both the lyrical and the musical theme of the album. It's also definitely a track that sounds a lot like what people probably would expect from us!"

As of June 8, 'Burning Wish' will be released across digital stores and streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where you can also obtain the 'Heat Death of the Universe' LP directly from the artists themselves.

CREDITS
Music and lyrics by Johannes Susitaival
Arrangement by Pennies by the Pound & Rauli Eskolin
Johannes Susitaival - vocals, drums, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Vesa Ranta - lead guitar
Alexander Meaney - rhythm and lead guitar
Tomi Laaksonen - bass
Rauli Eskolin - background vocals, keyboards
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli Eskolin
Mastered by Mark Gardener
record label Lilith

Keep up with Pennies By The Pound
Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | Apple Music| Spotify | Booking contact

Keep up with Mark Gardener / OX4 Sound
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | OX4Sound Twitter | Mark Gardener Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

PENNIES BY THE POUND present ‘The Waters’

October 11, 2021

"Pennies By The Pound have more in common with 60s psych-driven rock and 80s American college rock than with their Fenno-Scandian peers. Such a big and extravagant classic psychedelic rock. Wherever they may draw their influences from, one thing is for sure: this is brilliant music for here and now, wherever that may be" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"A trippy ride that recalls the familiar vibes and sounds of none other than Bob Mould, The Church / Marty Willson-Piper, Marillion and Jethro Tull. Yes, all of them and yes, this is actually possible. Loads of flair and professionalism from the band" ~ Amplify Music Magazine

"Indeed a wonderful affair... Pennies By the Pound should be on everyone’s radar as a must-have album of 2021 and a band to watch in future" ~ The Record Stache

Prog rock outfit Pennies By The Pound present 'The Waters', a great sonic cleansing experience and invigorating shot of fresh air, beautifully expressing their own unique ideas and sound through the prism of fantastic British progressive rock.

Not long ago, this Finnish trio released their album 'Heat Death of the Universe' via the Lilith label. Mastered by Ride frontman Mark Gardener at his OX4Sound Studio in Oxford, this long-player was produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli 'Rake' Eskolin, a well achieved Finnish producer who boasts over a dozen No. 1 records in Finland in the past 20 years.

"The Waters' is actually one of the first songs I wrote for the band, but it took a while to take shape and thus, didn't originally end up on our debut EP. But that is a good thing as we managed to make the song a whole lot better for the album! It's an exploration of some of the generally unnamed, but powerful feelings evoked by certain things in nature and certain types of landscapes. I grew up and spent all of my childhood summers at the lakeshore, and the hundreds of lakes in Finland are quite a mysterious thing for me even to the present day," says Johannes Susitaival.

Pennies By The Pound unique sound blends '80s prog rock and '90s-early '00s alternative rock. Heavily guitar-driven with a touch of keyboards, they love big choruses, guitar and keyboard solos, bridges and grandiose arrangements.

Hailing from Helsinki, Pennies by the Pound was formed in 2016 by Johannes Susitaival as a solo project, but quickly became a three-piece with musicians from his past bands. Earlier, the band released the lyrics video for 'Indigo Screams' and finally now got to realise their vision for 'The Waters' video.

"We had all sorts of grandiose plans for making a big video earlier (with a different crew and director) in time for the album release, but the pandemic ruined all of that," says Johannes Susitaival.

"After some pondering, I contacted Martin Brown (an old bandmate of mine, and I knew he'd been doing things with film of late) in the hope that he would be able to do something on a smaller scale. We managed to put together something that could be shot without a large production, but still looks pretty epic! We were certainly helped by the magnificent - while a bit too hot - weather this summer."

While still in a punk rock band, Johannes began exploring quite different musical avenues, which led to Pennies By The Pound's self-produced 'Bloodshed and the Blinding Sunlight' EP in 2018. After several years of searching, they found their ideal producer and began recording demos in 2019 for this album. Due to the pandemic, they were only able to record these tracks in autumn of 2020.

On October 29, the 'Heat Death of the Universe' LP will be released on limited edition pink vinyl. Digitally, it is out now, available across the usual platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. The album can be ordered directly from the band, both as digital download and on vinyl, via Bandcamp.

VIDEO CREDITS
Written and directed by Martin Brown and Johannes Susitaival
Camera - Martin Brown and Sam Gurung
Editing - Martin Brown
Post-production - Sam Gurung

ALBUM CREDITS
Johannes Susitaival - vocals, drums, keyboards, rhythm guitar
Vesa Ranta - lead guitar, rhythm guitar
Tomi Laaksonen - bass guitar
Rauli Eskolin - additional keyboards, background vocals on track 6
Alexander Meaney - additional lead guitar on track 5
Kaisa Ranta - additional vocals on tracks 3 and 7, background vocals on track 6
All songs written by Johannes Susitaival, except for track 5 written by Johannes Susitaival and Mikko Maksimainen
All arrangements by Pennies by the Pound and Rauli Eskolin
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli "Rake" Eskolin
Recorded at E-Studio, Sipoo, Finland and Soundtrack Studio, Porvoo, Finland
Mastered by Mark Gardener in OX4 Sound Studio near Oxford

Keep up with Pennies By The Pound
Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | Apple Music | Spotify | Booking contact | Press contact

Keep up with Mark Gardener / OX4 Sound
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | OX4Sound Twitter | Mark Gardener Twitter | Instagram | YouTube |

Pennies By The Pound release 'Heat Death of the Universe' LP with support from Ride's Mark Gardener

June 24, 2021

"Pennies By The Pound have more in common with 60s psych-driven rock and 80s American college rock than with their Fenno-Scandian peers. Such a big and extravagant classic psychedelic rock. Wherever they may draw their influences from, one thing is for sure: this is brilliant music for here and now, wherever that may be" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

“There’s special cases like Susitaival, who will forever remain as a 90’s teenager, regardless of how the world changes or how one’s body might age” ~ Niko Peltonen (Soundi)

"A trippy ride that recalls the familiar vibes and sounds of none other than Bob Mould, The Church / Marty Willson-Piper, Marillion and Jethro Tull. Yes, all of them and yes, this is actually possible. Loads of flair and professionalism from the band" ~ Amplify Music Magazine

"Indeed a wonderful affair... Pennies By the Pound should be on everyone’s radar as a must-have album of 2021 and a band to watch in future" ~ The Record Stache

Finnish prog-psych rockers Pennies By The Pound have released their album 'Heat Death of the Universe' via Lilith Records, mastered by Ride frontman Mark Gardener at his OX4Sound Studio near Oxford. This long-player was produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli 'Rake' Eskolin, a rather achieved Finnish producer who has worked on over a dozen No. 1 records in Finland in the past 20 years.

Pennies By The Pound's sound blends '80s prog rock and '90s-early '00s alternative rock - essentially heavily guitar-driven with a touch of keyboards... Big choruses, quite a few guitar and keyboard solos and grandiose arrangements.

"Lyrically, there is a loose theme on the album about the way people continue to actually socially distance themselves from others (even without or before the pandemic) due to the influence of social media and maybe the internet in general. The album title is a nod to that, the "heat death of the universe" being the lack of and eventual end of real-life social connections between people," says Johannes Susitaival.

Hailing from Helsinki, Pennies by the Pound was formed in 2016 by Johannes Susitaival as a solo project, but it quickly became a three-piece involving musicians from his past bands. Ahead of this, the band previewed lead track 'Indigo Screams', along with accompanying lyrics video.

While still part of a punk rock band, Johannes began exploring some quite different musical avenues, which led to the self-produced 'Bloodshed and the Blinding Sunlight' EP in 2018. Having found their ideal producer after several years of searching, they began recording demos in 2019 for what would become this album. Due to the pandemic, they were finally able to record these tracks in autumn of 2020.

"This album is rooted in the fact that I became heavily interested in '80s Marillion a few years ago, especially the 'Clutching at Straws' LP. You can definitely hear the influence on the record, but there's a lot of '80s Rush too, spiced up with contemporary influences like Muse and Radiohead. As an artist, I've always been hesitant to make records that sound the same as the previous ones I've done, so the sound keeps evolving," says Johannes Susitaival.

"I wanted to make a record that is borderline ridiculous, in some ways, and definitely not very contemporary. Then again, for the first time in my life, I had a chance to work with a producer, whose work I have admired since the turn of the millennium and this definitely influenced the album and its sound".

The 'Heat Death of the Universe' album is out as of May 21. It can be obtained directly from the band via Bandcamp, as well as the standard platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

CREDITS
Johannes Susitaival - vocals, drums, keyboards, rhythm guitar
Vesa Ranta - lead guitar, rhythm guitar
Tomi Laaksonen - bass guitar
Rauli Eskolin - additional keyboards, background vocals on track 6
Alexander Meaney - additional lead guitar on track 5
Kaisa Ranta - additional vocals on tracks 3 and 7, background vocals on track 6
All songs written by Johannes Susitaival, except for track 5 written by Johannes Susitaival and Mikko Maksimainen
All arrangements by Pennies by the Pound and Rauli Eskolin
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli "Rake" Eskolin
Recorded at E-Studio, Sipoo, Finland and Soundtrack Studio, Porvoo, Finland
Mastered by Mark Gardener in OX4 Sound Studio near Oxford

Keep up with Pennies By The Pound
Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | Apple Music | Spotify | Booking contact | Press contact

Keep up with Mark Gardener / OX4 Sound
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | OX4Sound Twitter | Mark Gardener Twitter | Instagram | YouTube |

Pennies By The Pound release 'Heat Death of the Universe' LP with support from Ride's Mark Gardener

May 26, 2021

"Pennies By The Pound have more in common with 60s psych-driven rock and 80s American college rock than with their Fenno-Scandian peers. Such a big and extravagant classic psychedelic rock. Wherever they may draw their influences from, one thing is for sure: this is brilliant music for here and now, wherever that may be" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

“There’s special cases like Susitaival, who will forever remain as a 90’s teenager, regardless of how the world changes or how one’s body might age” ~ Niko Peltonen (Soundi)

"A trippy ride that recalls the familiar vibes and sounds of none other than Bob Mould, The Church / Marty Willson-Piper, Marillion and Jethro Tull. Yes, all of them and yes, this is actually possible. Loads of flair and professionalism from the band" ~ Amplify Music Magazine

"Indeed a wonderful affair... Pennies By the Pound should be on everyone’s radar as a must-have album of 2021 and a band to watch in future" ~ The Record Stache

PENNIES BY THE POUND mesh classic & psych-rock on 'Indigo Screams', mastered by RIDE's MARK GARDENER

May 10, 2021

Pennies By The Pound present classic/psych-rock-imbued 'Indigo Screams' ahead of new LP, mastered by Ride's Mark Gardener.

"Pennies By The Pound have more in common with 60s psych-driven rock and 80s American college rock than with their Fenno-Scandian peers. Such a big and extravagant classic psychedelic rock. Wherever they may draw their influences from, one thing is for sure: this is brilliant music for here and now, wherever that may be" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

“And then there’s special cases like Susitaival, who will forever mentally remain as a 90’s teenager, regardless of how the world changes or how one’s body might age” ~ Niko Peltonen (Soundi)

"A trippy ride that recalls the familiar vibes and sounds of none other than Bob Mould, The Church / Marty Willson-Piper, Marillion and Jethro Tull. Yes, all of them and yes, this is actually possible. Loads of flair and professionalism from the band" ~ Amplify Music Magazine

Finnish indie rockers Pennies By The Pound have announced they will release their new album 'Heat Death of the Universe' on May 21 via Lilith Records. Ahead of this, they present lead track 'Indigo Screams', along with accompanying lyrics video.

Mastered by Ride frontman Mark Gardener at his OX4Sound Studio near Oxford, this long-player was produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli 'Rake' Eskolin, a very achieved Finnish producer who has worked on over a dozen No. 1 records in Finland in the past 20 years.

"Lyrically, there is a loose theme on the album about the way people continue to actually socially distance themselves from others (even without or before the pandemic) due to the influence of social media and maybe the internet in general. The album title is a nod to that, the "heat death of the universe" being the lack of and eventual end of real-life social connections between people," says Johannes Susitaival.

Hailing from Helsinki, Pennies by the Pound was formed in 2016 by Johannes Susitaival as a solo project, but it quickly became a three-piece involving musicians from his past bands.

While still part of a punk rock band, Johannes began exploring some quite different musical avenues, which led to the self-produced 'Bloodshed and the Blinding Sunlight' EP in 2018. Having found their ideal producer after several years of searching, they began recording demos in 2019 for what would become this album. Due to the pandemic, they were finally able to record these tracks in autumn of 2020.

Pennies By The Pound's sound blends '80s prog rock and '90s-early '00s alternative rock - essentially heavily guitar-driven with a touch of keyboards... Big choruses, quite a few guitar and keyboard solos and grandiose arrangements.

"This album is rooted in the fact that I became heavily interested in '80s Marillion a few years ago, especially the 'Clutching at Straws' LP. You can definitely hear the influence on the record, but there's a lot of '80s Rush too, spiced up with contemporary influences like Muse and Radiohead. As an artist, I've always been hesitant to make records that sound the same as the previous ones I've done, so the sound keeps evolving," says Johannes Susitaival.

"I wanted to make a record that is borderline ridiculous, in some ways, and definitely not very contemporary. Then again, for the first time in my life, I had a chance to work with a producer, whose work I have admired since the turn of the millennium and this definitely influenced the album and its sound".

'Indigo Screams' is out now, available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music and Spotify. The full 'Heat Death of the Universe' album will be released on May 21 and can already be ordered via Bandcamp.
CREDITS
Johannes Susitaival - vocals, drums, keyboards, rhythm guitar
Vesa Ranta - lead guitar, rhythm guitar
Tomi Laaksonen - bass guitar
Alexander Meaney - additional lead guitar
Written by Johannes Susitaival and Mikko Maksimainen
Arrangements by Pennies by the Pound and Rauli Eskolin
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli "Rake" Eskolin
Recorded at E-Studio, Sipoo, Finland and Soundtrack Studio, Porvoo, Finland
Mastered by Mark Gardener in OX4 Sound near Oxford

Keep up with Pennies By The Pound
Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | Apple Music | Spotify | Booking contact | Press contact

Keep up with Mark Gardener / OX4 Sound
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | OX4Sound Twitter | Mark Gardener Twitter | Instagram | YouTube |