November 9 | Written By Lauren Ketterl

Los Angeles-based duo Penny Beverly, who is made up of Duncan and Mike were raised in Portland, Oregon, and moved to Los Angeles in 2021. They released their first EP this September titled “Something Else” and it does not disappoint. This short album contains five songs with nothing but upbeat and funky vibes. Their music is enriched with a culture of musical sounds throughout their songs; from their main genre of indie rock in one to the jazziness of trumpets in another. It’s safe to say that Penny Beverly is comfortable dipping their toes in an array of musical genres and exploring various sounds

The duo started releasing singles for the EP titled ‘Jump In’ earlier this year in March. This upbeat song refers to jumping into a situation and not waiting for an opportunity to come around. The lyrics “Holding onto things that won’t last forever,” reflect this idea of waiting around for something to happen. “Jump in, come on, and take a swim,” reflects the push for someone to that a leap of faith and stop waiting.

The next single released is titled ‘Dreams Are Your Master,’ and it’s just as electro-disco as it sounds. The opening of this song contains elements of 80s electric disco with the use of the keyboard, reflective of a Depeche Mode song or sounding like it should be used for a dance scene in the show Stranger Things. The song says “Worked so hard, tried to get a better start. Came this far, everything was in the dark,” pondering on the idea of using your mind to master your dark thoughts.

‘You & I’ is up next, and this song is a slower love song. It has a groovier melody and contains elements of a Daniel Caesar song with the lyrics of, “You’re like a summer evening,” along with, “This love ain’t got no ceiling,” and “You’re brighter than the sunlight and talk so peacefully.” It shows the adoring nature the singer has for their partner and how they are light in their life and wants to move slowly with them. It’s a beautiful song telling how much their partner means to them and impacts their life.

Finally on this EP is the last single, ‘What’s Your Name’ and the title track ‘Something Else.’

Introducing a jazzy aspect, ‘What’s your name’ has a cheerful rhythm that is backed with trumpets and a fast beat. Last up is the song that snagged the title of the EP, ‘Something Else’, and it’s deserving of the title track. Just like ‘Dreams are your master,’ this song includes elements of keyboards to give it a more electric persona along with an upbeat vibe. The song includes the lines “Take your time, there’s so much going on under these thin lines. Treat them like a brother then just realize, we’re different from each other, make a peace of mind.” This song talks about loneliness and how people are trying hard to do things in life, but we must take a minute to stop and take it in.

Overall, this EP gives listeners a taste of the type of music and songwriting Penny Beverly can produce. With this being their first EP, it goes without saying, that listeners should be excited to see what the duo has planned for the future.

Check out ‘Something Else’ here.

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