Fake Dad has today released their new single titled ‘Machinery’ from their upcoming EP ‘Holly Wholesome’. A mix and mash of a couple decades of pop and rock with a sound reminiscent of when alternative was the alternative, ‘Machinery’ gives a glimpse to the grit and glamour that, hopefully, is ‘Holly Wholesome’.
Fake Dad sounds like a group that was meant to be together. What I mean is, the songs are as pristine as they are original. You can hear the individual contributions from each member. And, in turn, those sounds and influences create a monster hook and anthemic level melody that takes the listener to their next favorite place. Beautiful.
Check out our other features with Fake Dad HERE.
About Fake Dad & ‘Machinery’
Andrea de Varona (she/her) and Josh Ford (he/him) aka Fake Dad are a Los Angeles based, NYC bred indie rock meets dream pop duo. Formed in 2020, the two met at a college party in the East Village and have been inseparable ever since. Melting their own unique artistic visions to build a shared sonic shorthand, Fake Dad create an intoxicating and colorful musical fusion complete with catchy pop-laden hooks, crunchy, 90s inspired guitars, grooving bass lines, and buoyant synths. With a distinctive production sound and a signature vocal delivery, the two write and record expansive musical moments from their apartment. Although Andrea and Josh come from different musical backgrounds, they share a common goal: to create music that understands you.
In the past year, Fake Dad have been fixated on posers. Specifically, rock music posers—there’s just something fascinating about music made by an artist who’s pretending to be someone they’re not. In the different subgenres of rock especially, “fake” can be a dirty word. But as Andrea and Josh dug into some of their favorite artists from before their time, it became clear that playing a character is pretty deeply entwined with the legacy of rock music.
PJ Harvey was a skinny, 5’4 woman who bellowed about being 50 feet tall and “man-sized.” Stevie Nicks wore her don’t mess with me or I’ll put a spell on you, witchy persona to break through the gender boundaries of rock and roll. Tina Turner was a background singer turned untouchable superstar who reinvented herself through decades of hard fought battles. LCD Soundsystem was an introvert pretending to be the life of the party, and David Bowie was pretending to be a space alien. And yet, there’s a kind of wish fulfillment there: these are people who found more than just creative expression in their art—they found reinvention. Within the false image, they were able to find something true about themselves. Since the beginning of 2024, this is what Fake Dad has been able to do as well, embracing the freeing process of writing music through the lens of a character, which has allowed them to explore the sonic trappings of their favorite rock, punk, and new wave legends, as well as better understand themselves.
In their upcoming EP, Holly Wholesome and the Slut Machine, Fake Dad have created characters that live in their made up world of angry, burger-flipping clowns, star-crossed knights, and masked sleep paralysis demons. Throughout the process, Andrea and Josh realized that they were using the fiction to unpack very real aspects of their lived experiences—including their identities and sexualities as romantic partners in a straight-passing relationship.
The latest offering off the project, “Machinery” is about the pressure for women in music to package themselves as consumable, f*ckable products just to be taken seriously—and how that pits them against each other and themselves. Andrea confides, “This angry, teeth-grinding rock/pop track was written right after an industry showcase where every girl performing wore the exact same spike-studded bra—too concerned with sizing each other up to actually have a good time. As they eyed each other with loathing and borderline obsession, I stood in the corner feeling really sad that nobody was trying to connect, which is what we were all supposedly there to do. This song was written as a response to the way this kind of woman on woman (or more generally, artist on artist) hate perpetuates these spaces while the real culprits—our sick, sad society governed by narcissistic, billionaire white men—totally fly under the radar. In the end, the man is the real one we’re calling out. The one that we’re sick and tired of watching get what they want, while we sit back eating from their palm.”
With a unique musical perspective, and an unparalleled communal bond with their listeners, Fake Dad have already garnered much deserved attention, landing over a dozen official Spotify playlists and selling out shows in their hometown of NYC as well as their new home of Los Angeles. The duo’s upcoming project, Holly Wholesome and The Slut Machine reveals a new era in their evolution as artists—preparing listeners for the expansiveness and singularity of what’s to come in 2025 and beyond. “Machinery” is the final single off Fake Dad’s upcoming EP, Holly Wholesome and the Slut Machine out on March 14th (featuring editorial picks “So Simple!” and “ON/OFF”). The release will be followed by FD’s first full band US tour with Pom Poko—including official festival plays at SXSW, Treefort, and more to be announced.
LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/fakedadtheband
https://www.tiktok.com/@fakedadtheband
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Rjjt4ggLpFDBQmAzOh7WA
https://www.facebook.com/fakedadtheband
https://www.fakedadtheband.com
