“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.”