Ed Axel’s debut, Pretend God Exists isn’t interested in traditional worship or in redemption through purity—but perhaps, salvation through release. Produced entirely by Axel and longtime collaborators Skipper Jones and Krovie, the seven-track mixtape turns biblical apocalypse into nightclub nihilism.

A couple days before the release at an after party for some visiting NYC band, Ed tells me that he wants to be big. We laugh, but he means it. That mix of ambition and self-awareness—of reaching for something while already questioning if it matters, is where Pretend God Exists softens the edge between sincerity and irony, never landing fully in either.

For lead single “Hit Song,” electro-pop textures meet rap cadences as he seems to be quietly searching for god or some type of belief in the middle of a night out. But whether God exists or not feels beside the point. The music pulses anyway. It’s not quite hope, but it’s close enough to dance to.

In “Madea,” Axel concludes: “Fall in love, live or die / On and on, final call / And if we fall and if we die, / We’ll meet up and we’ll sing again.”

Pretend God Exists doesn’t necessarily offer comfort, but it does offer a type of catharsis. Because maybe we don’t ascend—we dissolve. Perhaps transcendence isn’t light—it’s bass. It’s feedback. But Axel isn’t offering answers here, just surrender. 

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