San Diego indie rock band Pleasure Pill channel release, reflection, and raw emotional momentum into their new EP ‘Alive,’ a fiery, four-song surge of Britpop spirit, anthemic energy, and dynamic, melody-driven songwriting.

Stream: ‘Alive’ – Pleasure Pill

Life burns brightest at the edges –

– in the split-second decisions, the late-night freedoms, the fragile belief that anything can still happen before the sun comes up.

San Diego’s Pleasure Pill chase that rush with urgency and precision, turning it into a sound that surges, swells, and refuses to sit still. Their new EP Alive arrives as both a release and a reckoning, tracing the thrill of letting go through the emotional aftershocks that follow – the high, the comedown, the connection, and the quiet moments in between. It’s a tightly wound, four-song statement that captures a band in motion, driven by instinct, melody, and a deep-rooted devotion to rock and roll.

Together, these tracks don’t just capture life’s fleeting moments – they give them weight, transforming impulse into identity and raw feeling into fuel. Alive is just that – a record that lives and breathes with undeniable passion, charm, and churn, establishing Pleasure Pill as a band breaking through on their own terms.

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Pleasure Pill’s new EP Alive, a fiery collection that builds on the momentum of last year’s independently released debut album Hang a Star. Arriving in June 2025, that record introduced the San Diego outfit with bright, bold licks, endless energy, charged hooks, and dynamic earworm melodies – a statement of intent that quickly caught ears on both sides of the Atlantic. With Alive, the band sharpen their identity even further, expanding their sonic palette while staying rooted in the spirit that first set them apart.

Formed in 2021, Pleasure Pill – comprised of brothers Jonah Paz (vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar) and Ethan Paz (electric guitar) alongside Dom Friedly (drums) and Justin Bordwell (electric guitar) – have steadily grown from Southern California’s underground into a band drawing widespread attention. Their Britpop-rooted sound has earned notable praise, with SPIN dubbing them “a Millennial Oasis,” FLOOD highlighting their “cheeky radio hits,” and even Liam Gallagher remarking, “They look DANGEROUS.” Despite that rising buzz, the band have remained firmly independent, continuing to carve out a sound that feels both reverent and refreshingly their own.

“We’re a rock ‘n’ roll band from San Diego that prioritizes great songwriting and great shows before anything else,” Jonah Paz tells Atwood Magazine. “Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t just optics for us – it’s something we believe in.”

I feel alive in the night
When you are letting go
We all know, we all know

That it means the most
When you’re not stuck at home
So I can feel alive, feel alive

When will the stars come out
I hope not long from now
When will they shine on me
I guess we’ll just wait and see
‘Cause my time falls through the clock
Your life seems to be stuck
We’ll find ourselves tonight

That conviction runs through Alive with electric clarity.

Pleasure Pill may wear their influences proudly, but they never treat rock history like a museum piece; they play it as a living language, full of force, melody, swagger, and heart. You can hear echoes of Britpop, power pop, and guitar-driven ‘90s alt-rock in the band’s roaring choruses, warm harmonies, and mouth-watering riffs, yet none of it feels borrowed or boxed in by nostalgia. Instead, Pleasure Pill channel those touchstones into songs that feel immediate and (dare we say) alive, honoring the past while pushing their own sound forward with grit, charisma, and enthusiastic fire.

As Jonah Paz explains, the Alive EP serves as a bridge between the band’s first album and the one to come. “We wanted to build off of what we did on our debut album from last year, while introducing new aspects of our sound that we’ve discovered in the last year,” he says. “The songs we’ve been working on shine a bit of a different light compared to the old ones, and we just want people to be informed gradually of that change before it hits them.”

“We are excited to continue to expand our sonic capabilities while remaining true to what made our earlier work so glorious.”

That evolution comes to light across Alive as the band stretch their sound without losing sight of what makes them hit. “If You Believe” opens the EP with warmth and vulnerability, weaving rich, multi-part harmonies that would make Brian Wilson blush into a love song grounded in trust and mutual devotion. “Feel Alive” roars to life in full stride – a widescreen, night-chasing anthem built on sweltering overdriven guitars and a restless pulse, capturing the rush of letting go and chasing whatever waits after dark.

The headbang-ready “Is It Me?” pulls the lens inward, trading that high for hazy reflection as confusion and doubt creep in with the morning light, its hooks landing with equal force and fervor but a different emotional weight. The gentle, dreamy “Stand Still” closes things out with striking restraint – an acoustic-led slow burn that proves Pleasure Pill’s ability to create scale and intensity without sheer volume, letting longing and intimacy take center stage.

For a band still in their nascence, Alive is an impressively mature offering that all but secures Pleasure Pill’s place as an artist to watch –

– a confident, clear-eyed statement from a group already refining their voice and honing their instincts in real time. Each track lands with purpose, balancing immediacy with intention and showcasing a command of melody, dynamics, and emotional pacing that far exceeds their years. There’s a sense of momentum here that feels earned rather than forced, driven by songwriting that prioritizes connection over spectacle and performance over pretense. Alive doesn’t just hint at potential; it delivers on it, positioning Pleasure Pill as a band worth following closely as they continue to carve out their own lane.

They may yet be a Millennial Oasis, but they’re certainly no cover band. If Alive is any indication, Pleasure Pill are writing their own future in real time, with the sound, swagger, and songwriting to back it up.

“We hope people love the songs as much as we do, and are able to see the strength of our songwriting before any other thing about us,” Jonah Paz shares. Alive makes that case with conviction, foregrounding craft, melody, and structure in a way that leaves a lasting impression long after the final note fades.

Fans of Britpop and guitar-driven indie rock are sure to fall hard and fast for this latest installment from the Southern California foursome, drawn in by its anthemic pull and undeniable sense of motion, and held there by the same spark that fuels every late night, every leap, and every moment that makes you feel fully, unmistakably alive.

Experience the full record via our exclusive stream, and peek inside Pleasure Pill’s Alive EP with Atwood Magazine as the band take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their latest release!

— —

:: stream/purchase Alive here ::

:: connect with Pleasure Pill here ::

— —

Stream: ‘Alive’ – Pleasure Pill

:: Inside Alive ::

— —

Feel Alive

“A song about being young and having a lust for life. Celebrating the good times that the day time could never bring.”

Is It Me?

“If ‘Feel Alive’ is a good night out, then this song is the morning after. This song lives in the confusion the next day brings after your best night.”

If You Believe

“A love song that focuses on the necessity of believing in one another. Greatness in any relationship can only exists when all parties believe in the thing equally, and that is what this song is about.”

Stand Still

“My personal favorite track from this EP, I am really proud of how this song came out and I am proud that a song like this can live amongst our catalog. It’s easy to make a song sound large with marshall amps and Les Pauls, it’s a whole other challenge to make a song sound large with just acoustic instruments… Pleasure Pill can do both.”

— —

:: stream/purchase Alive here ::

:: connect with Pleasure Pill here ::

— —

Stream: ‘Alive’ – Pleasure Pill

— — — —

Connect to Pleasure Pill on
Bandcamp, TikTok, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

 © Alejandra Cardenas

:: Stream Pleasure Pill ::