Track-by-Track: Argentine Indie Sleaze Duo Pacifica Are Unleashed on 'Freak Scene'

A rip-roaring indie rock fever dream full of passion, heart, and endless swagger, Pacifica’s debut album ‘Freak Scene’ is as uncompromising as it is unapologetic and unfiltered.

Stream: “Anita” – Pacifica

I’m dreaming of the place we can be, it’s just a freak scene when it’s just you and me…

A rip-roaring indie rock fever dream full of passion, heart, and endless swagger, Pacifica’s debut album is as uncompromising as it is unapologetic and unfiltered.

The Buenos Aires, Argentina-based duo of Ines Adam and Martina are unleashed on Freak Scene, a sonically and emotionally charged tempest that calls to mind the raw charm and churn of the ’90s and the sheer heat of the noughties post-punk revival, all with dazzling, dynamic a modern edge.

From playing covers of their favorite songs to redefining “indie sleaze” in the 2020s, Pacifica are well on their way as a singular force in the alternative space.

Freak Scene - Pacifica — Freak Scene – Pacifica

Saw you in a different light
Another day, another start
Breaking into your dad’s car
Laughing at the life we’re wasting
Change your mind tonight
Change your mind tonight

I’ve been tryna keep an open mind
Feeling lucky makes up for the time
You’ve been trying to tell me you don’t mind
So come to mine
And I won’t be lonely

– “Change Your Mind,” Pacifica

Released September 29, 2023 via TAG Music (a joint venture between Cobra Starship alum Gabe Saporta and Atlantic Records), Freak Scene is roaring and soaring, searing and relentless: A high-octane eruption of eleven in-your-face rock songs that come to life with a fierce, fiery passion and a charming, youthful energy.

Following their 2022 debut EP Not a Cover Band, Pacifica’s first full-length album serves as a dazzling and dynamic introduction to the band formed by internet friends Ines Adam and Martina Nintzel in 2021. Taking cues from their favorite bands (The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, anyone?), their music is raw, yet refined: An irresistible blend of sweltering electric guitars, thunderous drums, and spirited vocals that demand listeners’ undivided attention.

“The record came about in a pretty unusual way, actually,” Pacifica tell Atwood Magazine. “We started playing together in the middle of the pandemic doing covers on YouTube and got a pretty good reaction from people on the Internet. After magical [playing] in New York City, where we ended up getting signed a label with only three or four songs written, we came back to Buenos Aires with a mission to write record and produce a record in one year.”

The duo continue, “Our main vision, for the record was for to sound garage with ‘90 influences, and to not be overly produced. We started writing songs, not necessarily trying to follow a certain theme but naturally it does end up telling a story of growing up and coming into early adulthood.”

**They describe Freak Scene as fresh, unbothered, and eclectic.**

“Freak Scene was a natural step from us doing covers to doing our own original music. It’s showcases a lot of our influences, but also throughout it, we found our own style.”

Highlights abound on the journey from album opener “Change Your Mind” to its cathartic closer “Silent Affection,” from whose chorus Pacifica derived the record’s title. “One of our favorite songs lyrically on the record is ‘Silent Affection,’ they explain. “From the verse that says “I’m not thinking of another I’d like to burden with silent affection” to the lyric that gives the album its title – “it’s just a freak scene when it’s just you and me” – it’s one of our more vulnerable songs and we hold it close to our hearts.”

I’m seeing different colors
Couldn’t tell you nothing further
I couldn’t lie, couldn’t write something random
I can tell that it’s too much to handle

I wouldn’t wanna bother
But I’m not thinking of another
I like to burden with silent affection
Made a turn and a slight deviation

I’m dreaming of a place we can go
Where we can
Disappear and drive really slow
Not gonna wake up
Pretend that nothing happened and just get up

I’m dreaming of the place we can be
It’s just a freak scene when it’s just you and me
Not gonna wake up
Pretend that nothing happened and just get up

Two more indisputable standouts include the record’s explosive lead single “With Or Without You” (which has amassed over 1 million global streams since its release) and the unrelenting “Anita,” a headbanger with one of the catchiest choruses you’ll hear all year. One of Atwood Magazine‘s Editor’s Picks, “Anita” packs a heavy punch as Pacifica combine sweltering emotions and searing sounds into a charged anthem full of passion, energy, and attitude.

Hey what’s your name she said
You’re just my type she said
Hey how you doin, it’s really nice to meet you
You should take my number a-a-a i go by anita

She said I live nearby
Wouldn’t u know
Gimme a ride
I got something on my mind
You play keytar for an indie band
The show is tonite
You’re wasting all your time

“Anita represents every woman that has ever had to sit through a random dude trying to pick her up with his mediocre guitar skills,” Pacifica previously shared. “In life you’re either Anita or Alan, the simpee or the simper. The cycle is unbreakable and at some point, whether you want it or not, you will need Anita.”

They put it in even simpler terms here: “‘Anita’ is the type of girl you just can’t get over. You will love her, you will hate her, but most of all: you will need her.”

Second track “Fantasies,” a song about completely losing your mind over someone, has been a personal favorite for the band at the moment. “It’s always a good experience,” they smile, “and the solo at the end of the song is one of our favorites.

Whether you’re belting it out to the smile-inducing revelry “Hotel Bar” or soaking in the heavier weights of “Premature Rejection” and “Away,” Freak Scene is undeniable and all-consuming.

Pacifica’s LP goes well past introducing them to the world, and establishes the pair as a bold and breathtaking force to be reckoned with. Their songs balance raw grit with cool finesse – and the result is as irresistible as it is exhilarating.

“We didn’t think of an audience as we were writing Freak Scene, but we really enjoy seeing people’s reaction to it and seeing what they interpreted in it and how they make it their own,” Pacifica share. “We grew so much during the process of recording it and really proud of the final results and looking forward to learning more and more with every record we put out.”

Pacifica recently released Freak Scene: NAK Sessions, a three-track EP featuring acoustic versions of “Change Your Mind,” “Fantasies,” and “Silent Affection.” Their songs may roar with electric guitars, but NAK Sessions proves that Pacifica shine just as bright when you dial back the overdrive and let the songs in their bare bones shine.

Part punk, part indie, part slacker, and all sleaze, Pacifica are an intoxicating new favorite band full of power, passion, and endless potential. Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Pacifica’s Freak Scene with Atwood Magazine as Ines Adam and Martina Nintzel take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their debut album!

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Stream: ‘Freak Scene’ – Pacifica

:: Inside Freak Scene ::

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Change Your Mind

We always imagined it on the soundtrack of a coming of age movie, where the main character comes home from Thanksgiving. It sounds like a blend between The Strokes, Serú Girán and Taylor Swift. It’s the first song on the record but it was actually the last song we wrote for it.

Fantasies

“Fantasies” is a song about completely losing your mind over someone. It came about listening to a Geese song called “Fantasies/Survival” – we were fixated on that word and the song came about very naturally.

Anita

“Anita” started out with a drum loop and a weezer meme, and slowly became one of our live favorites. It tells the story of Anita, a girl that is tired of indie boys. It’s very gratifying to hear a crowd chanting “i need anita.”

Hotel Bar

“Hotel Bar” is the sister song of the song that comes later, Digital Clock. We dreamed of having a song with an “oh oh oh” because of a famous saying Charly Garcia said to Gustavo Cerati, and then adding the “a-ha” “yeah-he”, an ABBA reference, really completed it.

With Or Without You

“With Or Without You” speaks truths about what it was for us to start Pacifica, no one really understood our vision but we were keen on growing and starting the project, with or without them. It was our first single and we hold it very close to our hearts.

Away

Also one of the last songs we wrote on the record. Away tries to convey a message about not being treated equally than our peers.

Closer

Closer is perhaps the darkest cut on the record. It tells the story of a girl that changes her attitude and personality every time she meets a new guy.

Premature Rejection

A sad song turned comedic, it tells a story of rejection. Sometimes writing a song is an easy way to get over someone. The song ended up being one of the more classic rock ones on the record.

Digital Clock

A nostalgic cut about growing up and growing apart. In this one we reference a lot of the songs and artists that inspired us in our childhoods.

Misled

Misled was almost cut from the album before our producer listened to it in a google drive with old demos and fought us to death to record it. We took a more relaxed approach to recird this one so it’s all recorded in one take and the vocals are recorded in the same mic as well.

Silent Affection

Choosing this one for the end of the album was a no brainer after recording the solo/outro. It’s the track that gave the title to the record.

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 © Mateo Gonzáles