Brooklyn Punk Musician Sickpay Releases Aggressive, Anthem-Filled “Pureocracy” EP

Brooklyn-based composer, producer and drummer/guitarist Sickpay has released a punk-fueled 5-track EP entitled “Pureocracy,” out now via Alien Body Music. A solo project spearheaded by Mike Birnbaum, Sickpay embraces chaos and catchy hooks with equal vigor. Fans will be treated to aggressive punk rock vocals coupled with earworm melodies over slashing guitars and electric rhythms. In this collection of songs, Sickpay is confessional, unfiltered, and in your face as he experiments musically while maintaining a heavy, groove-soaked foundation.

Inspired by Floor, Wavves, Lightning Bolt and Leftover Crack, Pureocracy takes you on a hard-to-place journey that straddles modern rock & lo fi hypnagogic pop.

Pureocracy was born in the darkest days of the pandemic, but is filled with ecstatic anthems for our era. Recorded in a small Brooklyn studio, these five songs feature big choruses, to-the-point tunes about living through existential oppression. Enjoy the freedom and release that comes from yell singing out of the holler. – Mike Birnbaum (Sickpay)

Pureocracy t-shirts are available at https://sickpay.bigcartel.com/products.

Listen to “Pureocracy” on Bandcamp.

Listen on Spotify.

Artist Biography:
Mike Birnbaum (aka Sickpay) is an accomplished Brooklyn-based composer, producer and drummer/guitarist. His new album Pureocracy, born in the darkest days the pandemic, is filled with ecstatic anthems for our era and brings together the high energy of rock, punk, grunge and pop. In this collection of songs, Sickpay is confessional, unfiltered, and in your face as he experiments musically while maintaining a heavy, groove-soaked foundation.

Sickpay embraces chaos and catchy hooks with equal vigor. Fans will be treated to aggressive punk rock vocals coupled with earworm melodies over slashing guitars and electric rhythms.

Like many punk musicians and fans, Sickpay‘s roots in the scene are deep. When asked about his distinctly punk musical approach, Mike said “It has been a gradual descent into making my own punk music. I have been in rock bands since high school and for some reason my band history has gotten punkier with time. I was in an over-the-top basement swamp punk band called 2 Ton Bug in 2010-11. Eventually getting attention from that, I was asked to play drums with Juiceboxxx from 2012 until recently which was as punk an experience as there is. This eventually led me to playing with Wavves for a few shows. At the same time my girlfriend was selling merch for Leftover Crack and other notorious NY bands. So it’s tough to tell whether I was drawn to it or it just came for me. But I’ve been part of punk adjacent communities for a long time and it’s just what seemed to naturally happen when picking up a guitar.” 

Inspired by Floor, Wavves, Lightning Bolt and Leftover Crack, Pureocracy takes you on a hard-to-place journey that straddles modern rock & lo fi hypnagogic pop.

Mike has written seven other albums of electronic pop and reggae under the moniker D. Gookin. His hit song Glad I Met You has been downloaded on Spotify more than one million times. His song Remember was used in an Oil of Olay commercial and another song, Croak, was on an episode of Broad City. Mike has produced music for Pictureplane, Juiceboxxx and other NY artists. He has also toured with Juiceboxxx all over the United States and in Europe.

“Pureocracy” is available now on major platforms.

You can find him on Instagram at @bvgleboi and @sickpayy and on Bandcamp at https://sickpay.bandcamp.com and  https://dgookin.bandcamp.com.