For a five-song EP, Seattle’s Pansy cover an impressive amount of ground. Opening track Mercy Kill Me could have come straight from the Big Star and Teenage Fanclub playbooks — the opening jangle guitars chiming like alarm clocks for the heartbroken — before drifting into something more contemporary and timelessly melodic. Walk Dangerous (Chasers) follows suit, pairing vulnerability with hooks that cut deep.

Then there’s I’m Coming, where Tony Molina–style buzzsaw guitars collide with Blondie-esque pop instincts — an irresistible mix of fuzz and finesse. By My Side begins like a late-night acoustic confessional before blooming into alt-country heartbreak, managing to both sting and soothe in equal measure. The closer (Dark Star) builds slow tension and then releases it in cathartic waves, a fitting exhale to a record this emotionally charged.

Skin Graft is, in Pansy’s own words, “about living and loving as a transgender woman in America, where the political temperature is rising.” It’s a bold, beautiful, and deeply personal statement — one that turns vulnerability into power. Easily one of the year’s standout short-format releases.

CD out now on Earth Libraries.

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