Born in the cracks of Essex and London, Sweet Houdini are a two-headed sleaze-punk animal with no interest in fitting into the music industry’s cage. Their sound drags grunge through broken glass, mutters beat poetry in alleys, and sneers like the punk offspring of Tom Waits. The band’s Pending EP tears at false idols, misogynist prophets, and the hollow victories of incels with feral conviction. Lead single Jesus California snarls at the myth of fame with the refrain “the devil he adores ya,” while tracks like Dogs, Marigold, and Spoon Fed expose rot, hypocrisy, and the desperate theatre of modern culture. Sweet Houdini don’t make music to be liked — they make it to wound, unsettle, and haunt.