You got me tossin’ and turnin’ I can’t get you off my mind
And all my friends tell me that stewin’ on it’s a big waste of time
I can’t keep myself from racin’ back and forth across the line
You can tell ‘em what you want but you can’t say I didn’t try
Split is a word that bites three ways. It speaks first of the breaking: lovers once locked in tender orbit now spiraling apart, torn by trust turned to ash. Then it slices deeper…betrayal, that quiet dagger slipped between ribs by hands once held. And deeper still, it mutters of the mind’s own breaking: seams fraying, thoughts scattering, sense dissolving into static. To split is to sever, to suffer, to survive. It is the crack of a door slammed too hard, the silence after a scream, the sting of memory reeling backward like film unwinding. But within that break, that bloody parting, lives a strange relief: revenge as release, pain as purge. Split, in its cruel trinity, becomes sacrament: the knife that cuts, the wound that weeps, and the fire that cauterizes. It hurts. But it frees.
Pixel Grip, Chicago’s storm surge of sweat, synth, and spite, strikes again with Split, a track that slaps like a betrayal and hums like bad wiring behind the walls. The single serves as their first offering of the year and the third release from their upcoming project.
Rita Lukea spits fire through smoke, while Jonathon Freund and Tyler Ommen build a brutalist cathedral of drums and distortion around her. The trio dives headfirst into heartache’s harshest corners. Split buzzes with the static of a love undone, a friendship fractured, a psyche spun sideways. It snarls through darkwave alleys and avant-pop gutters, dragging its boots across electronic glass. The track swings between ice and ignition—cold beats, hot blood, a flash of teeth in the dark. You can dance to it. You can break to it. Or both, at once. And in Split, they serve betrayal back on a silver platter, with the beat as the blade and the chorus as the kiss goodbye.
“‘Split’ is a triple entendre,” says the band. “First, it means to leave, ‘I’m going to split; see you later.’ Second, it refers to heartbreak; my heart split in half. And third, it touches on a psychological symptom where your perception of someone splits: they go from being your friend to your enemy, everything becomes black and white, and you cut them off – you split on them.”
Listen to Split below and stream it on your choice of services here.
Known for their seductive edge, avant-garde style, and high-voltage live shows, Pixel Grip has built a devoted cult following through relentless touring and an unflinching dive into themes of desire, power, and liberation. In 2024, they hit the road as direct support for HEALTH and DEHD, then launched a sold-out North American headline tour, highlighted by a standout set at Chicago’s RIOT Fest. Their underground anthems ALPHAPUSSY and Demon Chaser have crossed over into the world of high fashion, soundtracking runway shows for the likes of Versace and Alexandre Vauthier—proof that their pulse beats far beyond the club floor.
Split is available to order via Bandcamp here.
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