Image by: Josh Huskin

Hailing from San Antonio, TX, Panic Division is an indie pop project from the mind of Colton Holliday. This past Friday Panic Division released their new album Touch – which immediately transports you to an alternate post-modern future.

Diving right into this dream-pop album, it opens with “Feathers” – a light, soothing track that feels like the opening song for an 80’s cult classic film. Quite honestly, this is the missing track from Back To The Future – its airy rhythmic nature makes it easy to digest, while its ending phone ring leaves us begging not to be forwarded to voicemail.

The uncertain ending of “Feathers” quickly fades as we are abruptly brought into “Graveyards“. A more upbeat, synth-pop track that has us twirling. “I’d rather leave you in my mind, than you fuckin’ with my time” – a perfect narrative for the Millennials of 2019 – let me just remember the good times ’cause I have things to do and it turns out you’re kind of a drag.

We have to, of course, touch on the title track of the album. “Touch” is the final single released before the album dropped –  joining “Kill The Lights“, “Mother, Father” and “Graveyards” on the playlists of fans who have been anxiously waiting for more. Recently, Panic Division released the official music video for “Touch” in which Colton shares, “I wanted to give the audience a quick glimpse into my personal life, but without giving too much away. The girl is not able to view the forest like others, but she travels into it blind and needs a little help finding her way back. So we made sure everyone was essentially blind in the video, including the viewer, by having my vocal shots silhouetted”. Blinded by routine and easy stability – she left wanting more, craving it – but is unsure of the new surroundings and if you’ll see the same beauty in the change as she does.

Further into the album we hit a “Sugar High” – one of the bouncier tracks on the record but its lyrics speak on problematic behavior [a common theme across the record]. “Baby got a Sugar High Love…Filling up on wasted time, and you’re hiding…..Know that when you go, anywhere you run to, Oh, the whole world keeps turning..” – being so into yourself that you create this false narrative to others that you have it all; meanwhile, you don’t have the answers or, quite frankly, the correct questions to begin with. A self created vicious cycle that isn’t as easy to get out of as it was to jump into.

As we come to the final 2 tracks – “Out Of My Head” and “Oceans” – we’ve arrived at a point self reflection and the next steps of personal growth. “Out Of My Head” is hands down the most relatable track on the album, especially in a world filled with individuals struggling to silence the voices in their head constantly telling them “do more,” “do less,” “you’re fine,” “you’re not ok….” etc. “Burning to live like anybody else” – the final lyric of the song speaks volumes about our desire to have a break from what we each consider our ‘norm’ – to finally have true normalcy. And with that we are left with “Ocean” – a 5 minute instrumental leaving us in a place of reflection. This album as a whole is transcendent – but what can really be appreciated is that the instrumental tracks feel purposeful and not like place holders. Instead, they are the perfect book ends for the post 80’s pop soundtrack that is now your life.

Touch is available for download on iTunes, Amazon & Bandcamp and will be available to stream via Spotify in a few weeks. Download this incredible album Here and perfect your end of summer playlists with some of these killer tracks.