Posh Hammer

Growing up in the millennium can be complicated. Synth-pop duo Posh Hammer bring to light the ravages of young adulthood with their new pair of singles, “Everywhere Tonight” and “Fall.” Building on their 2018 EP, Dancing In Place, which earned them the Van Gogh Award at the 2018 Amsterdam Film Festival, the pop surveyors continue to explore themes of alienation and isolation and dig further into the dark side of social media culture.

“Everywhere Tonight” sinks into the frantic, pulse-raising mayhem of Instagram. The synths mimic the irresistible urges to spy on people doing seemingly cooler things than you in cooler places. “It’s more complicated to think of you as mine,” sings Tasnim, who teeters between insecurity and taking the plunge. Then, “Fall,” glistening with a new layer of polish, buckles underneath the weight of the night’s last moments. “If we get stranded tonight, I would fall for you,” she confesses, a forthright statement brought to life between flecks of glitter and ever-present social pressures. Tasnim and Navied paint with the kind of brutal truths absent from much of popular music, and with their new singles, they continue to impress.

2018’s Dancing in Place EP also snagged a selection slot and performance at the 2018 Richmond International Film Festival for the band’s wholly inventive audio and visual pieces. Across five songs and five music videos Posh Hammer bring to life the story of two love-torn celebrities who must navigate the demands of internet fame and keep their romance from falling apart. 

Growing up in Asheville, NC, Tasnim and Navied were exposed to David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, and Bryan Ferry, pop titans who instilled them with the basics of how pop music works. “Bowie taught us it was OK to be different,” Tasnim says. “Not listening to the music other kids were listening to was kind of weird but it was good for us.” Their father, an Iranian immigrant, came to the United States with absolutely nothing and built an entire life for himself. That courage had an understandably monumental impact on them both. They’re first generation Americans and in 2019, they are being tested in ways many can not even fathom. “It was hard sometimes growing up with a name like Tasnim,” laments Tasnim. But she brushes it off, choosing to celebrate her uniqueness. “But we were never the ones who wanted to try to fit in.”

Posh Hammer demonstrate admirable commitment to self-sufficiency. Navied and Tasnim have written, recorded, and produced all their songs themselves. That’s where “Fall” and “Everywhere Tonight” come into play, extensions of the darkest shadows of existence then reflected in the glistening, inescapable mirror of popular celebrity culture. It’s as commercial as it is truly emotional. The two songs operate as an extension of what has come before but also a surefire sign of where they plan to go next: world domination.