Nordic alt-rock outfit Pennies by the Pound releases synth-laden 80s-inspired 'The End Times' single

"One of Finland’s best kept secrets... quite chameleonic. Best known for their British prog-rock stylings, the quartet try a new size on in this current single – synthpop... truly of the 80s, only with a vocal timbre and passion of Marillion" ~ The Spill Magazine

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

"A trippy ride... 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 band to watch in future" ~ The Record Stache


Finnish indie outfit Pennies By The Pound have released their new invigorating single 'The End Times', the second single from their upcoming concept album 'Nothingside', to be released this spring via the Lilith label.

This time around, the band has traded in the fantastic British-style progressive rock seen on the first single 'Burning Wish', a beautiful expression of optimism and adventure, for a synth-infused exploration of the opposite end of the spectrum of emotions conveyed on their forthcoming sophomore album.

Pulsing with the rhythms and sounds of the neon-lit eighties, 'The End Times' takes the listener on a ride through the turbulent times we (as well as the protagonists of the story) are experiencing at present, keeping sight of the light at the end of the tunnel - even if it is an oncoming train.

"This song is something completely different than anything we've ever done before, almost alien to us in many ways. Most of the credit for that goes to our producer Mr. Eskolin, who was instrumental in making this song happen in the first place," says frontman Johannes Susitaival.

"If I've mentioned before about the influence of all sorts of 80s records on this album as a whole, this is definitely the climax of all that. If you check out the video, you'll especially know what I mean. The subject matter of the album as a whole is a bit heavy, so we tried to bring out some light-hearted fun for a change!"

As with previous releases, the Helsinki-based band worked with Ride frontman Mark Gardener, who mastered the track at his OX4 Sound Studioin Oxford, and top national producer Rauli 'Rake' Eskolin, who has had over a dozen No.1 records in Finland to his name in the past 20 years.

Pennies by the Pound was formed by Johannes Susitaival and Vesa Ranta around 2017, with the lineup expanded in the next few years by first Tomi Laaksonen and then Alexander Meaney, both musicians from previous related projects. Having written for a variety of bands, Johannes began exploring his passion for alternative and progressive rock, which led to Pennies' self-produced 'Bloodshed and the Blinding Sunlight' EP in 2018, followed by their debut album 'Heat Death of the Universe' in 2020. This new release takes them to yet another realm beyond that.

'The End Times' is out now, available via digital stores and streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.

CREDITS
Music by Johannes Susitaival and Rauli Eskolin
Lyrics by Johannes Susitaival
Arranged by Pennies By The Pound and Rauli Eskolin
Johannes Susitaival - vocals, guitar, keyboards
Vesa Ranta - lead guitar
Tomi Laaksonen - bass
Alexander Meaney - guitar
Rauli Eskolin - programming, keyboards, guitar
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli Eskolin
Mastered by Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound

VIDEO CREDITS
Directed by Martin Brown with Pennies By The Pound
Edited by Martin Brown
Cameras by Martin Brown and Sam Gurung
Post-production by Sam Gurung
With assistance from Jayson Rohde
'The End Times' ISRC FI-LLH-22-00010
'Burning Wish' ISRC FI-LLH-22-00002


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

"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


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PENNIES BY THE POUND present ‘The Waters’

"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


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