This duo from LA combines alt rock and pop to create the perfect blend; meet Poe The Passenger. They are known for their emotional songwriting and ability to add a melody to even the saddest lyrics. The duo, started by two best friends, has become a viral success through the popular artist hub TikTok.
The duo explores literary themes and ideological perspectives from a character of their own creation, "Poe," as they and the character navigate different hardships and even celebrations of successes and achievements in life together. Their fan base then became a family as they built their story alongside their audience and "Poe."
Their new album, "ALTR, Pt. 1," only helps expand on their story even more.
"ALTR, Pt. 1" has been a waterfall single-release album with ten songs in total, seven of which have been released as singles. Some of my personal favorites are "LIMBO," "SAVE YOURSELF," "ARCADE," and "SAFETY." All these songs are very relatable in general. Still, ones that I connected with especially and that caught me lyrically with lines like "Child in the attic, the lights turned off / When ink starts to spill, what's the cost / Filling all these pages with their feelings, while their time / They've been patient, they've been praying for some piece of mind / Found a letter in the ashes of my own design, signed my name on the red line / Saying save yourself, before you pick the pieces up of someone else" from their song "SAVE YOURSELF."
"Black Widow" is a really fun and notable song as well. The beat and flow create a really great club-type feel! The lyrics are notable and easy to sing along with while dancing and jumping around. With a chorus like "Tell me is it hunting season / I'm ready for the night / Come and kill the lights / Loving how you bite me slow, like a black widow". I would really love to see this song land a sync placement in a club scene or a vampire movie, even. This would be such a great song for movies.
I really love that this album is deep and even a little brooding but that it doesn't take away from how they address mental health and concepts that are based in such. They don't make it too edgy, too light, or too dark. They hit the nail on the head, not sugarcoating it but saying it in a well-done, straightforward sense. That is one of my biggest critiques for mental health-based music out of personal preference, so I really loved this.
Photo credits: Jess L. and Ger Beja Photography
Poe The Passenger is honestly built for virality in the best way possible. They have such a fun and great vibe in general. Their branding is really solid, and they have beautifully done visuals, which is extremely important. I know with the right push, this duo will be in the top charts!
This is a genre that is personally hard to get me on; I am very picky about pop rock and how the pop part is because I prefer heavier genres in general, but Poe The Passenger is going to be one I follow and add to my playlists!
Meet Poe The Passenger
Jeff Pridgen - Vocals
Trent Marderosian - Drums
