With her new single ‘Pulling Fits’, Davia Schendel proves she’s as comfortable skewering modern absurdities as she is crafting hooks that refuse to leave your head. The San Francisco-based singer, songwriter, and producer dresses her existential musings in shimmering indie-rock finery, weaving sharp satire into a track that pulses with swagger.
Built on driving basslines and wiry guitar from Jonah Ben-Amotz, the song wastes no time in laying down a groove that recalls the heyday of late-90s and early-2000s alternative. Yet Schendel’s fingerprints are everywhere in mandolin flourishes, sly synth touches, and percussion that adds sparkle without crowding the mix. This layering gives the song a playful sophistication, like a runway show where each model struts to a different beat, yet the collection somehow holds together.
Lyrically, Schendel toys with the dual meaning of “pulling fits,” flipping between commentary on style and the spirals of self-doubt that come with living in a culture obsessed with image and success. Her delivery is equal parts wry and magnetic, a knowing smirk underlined by genuine frustration. It’s this tension of the danceable veneer rubbing against the deeper bite of the words that makes the track hit harder with each repeat.
The production feels lush without sacrificing grit, a nod to the indie-rock lineage that inspired her while confidently carving its own lane. Mastered at Different Fur, the mix carries the warmth of analog polish but leaves space for the song’s eccentric edges to breathe.
With ‘Pulling Fits’, Davia Schendel takes the chaos of our curated lives and spins it into something both satirical and sincere. It’s clever, it’s infectious, and it’s proof she’s an artist with the rare ability to make crisis sound like a party you actually want to attend.
