Petrichor’s self-titled debut EP, out June 28, 2025, captures a sharp-edged look at youth in a collapsing world. The band’s four members—Mae Zellmer (vocals, lead guitar), Augusta Smith (vocals, bass), Camille Metzler (rhythm guitar), and Roscoe Smith (drums)—are all between 13 and 15 years old, but they’ve been shaped by something older and heavier: the legacy of Washington, DC’s punk and hardcore scenes, and the pressure of growing up under late capitalism.
Formed after attending Girls Rock! DC, Petrichor has evolved past camp origins into a band with something to say.
Their EP navigates absurdity and apocalypse with a crooked smile, merging straightedge-era urgency with the influence of bands like Bikini Kill, Fidlar, Green Day, and Metallica.
The songs bend punk’s drive into unexpected shapes, while lyrics penned by Zellmer and Smith explore the psychic overload of coming of age when the world’s on fire.
The opener, “Chip,” is rooted in found sound and an accident. Augusta explained that “the chip bag song was written after we discovered a cool rhythm that was created after a video of Mae getting hit in the face with a bag of chips was looped.”
That rhythmic discovery turned into a song dissecting the lure and false promises of Neverland, with a strange undercurrent that runs on accident and improvisation. Mae admitted, “we kind of all hated the original version of this song so one of the changes we added was the harmonies because the melody was monotonous so we thought that it would add some contrast.”
“PPP” leans hard into horror pop and fragmented dread. Zellmer dug up a two-year-old guitar riff from her camera roll to anchor it, writing lyrics the night before a show. “They’re kind of nonsensical and there’s actually no real meaning behind this song,” she said.
For Augusta, it started as a joke: “ppp started as a joke but then Mae came in and completed it 2 days before a show.” Somehow it became one of the more schizophrenic moments on the EP, less in structure than in vibe—more unease than explanation.
“Shoe” is a conceptual twist on “The Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe,” reimagined through the lens of economic precarity. It began when Augusta threw a shoe across the garage during practice. Mae recalled, “we were literally like ‘we should just write a song about a shoe.’”
Augusta followed through: “i said i was gonna write a song about them; the actual concept for the song was written later.”
“X Marks the Spot” turns Grey’s Anatomy into catharsis and commentary. Zellmer said the song “is about two characters’ deaths in Grey’s Anatomy in season 8.” Augusta described it more abstractly: “x marks the spot is my favorite blend of genres, i think it’s the best song we’ve ever written.”
Throughout the EP, there’s a mix of control and chaos, play and pressure. Musical influences range widely. For Mae, the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” shows up more than once. “One of the changes we added was the harmonies because the melody was monotonous.”
Camille cited “Shadow Moses” by Bring Me the Horizon and “She” by Green Day, while Roscoe pointed to Green Day’s “Holiday” and Fugazi’s “Suggestion.” Augusta mentioned Circle Jerks and Jaco Pastorius in equal measure.
These are kids who grew up in the right place to ask hard questions. DC’s music scene gave them both a history and a community, and they’ve used it to carve out a small, sharp space of their own.
They may not be old enough to drive yet, but they’ve got songs that push back hard against the idea that youth can’t hold weight. They’re writing from the inside out—restless, funny, overloaded, and wired.
The EP is available on Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, and other major platforms.
