Philadelphia duo Cold Court debut hyperpop EP Hands Up on June 19, 2026

Cold Court’s debut EP arrives like a roomful of ideas colliding at once: hyperpop gloss, indie-rock melody, emo squeal and electronic abrasion all packed into seven tracks. The Philadelphia sibling duo of Mini Serrano and Jojo Lavina-Maldonado released the project, titled “\ (^_^) /” but referred to by the band as “Hands Up,” on June 19, 2026.

That crowded sound is exactly what makes Cold Court stand out in a scene where younger acts are increasingly treating genre as raw material rather than a rulebook. WHYY described Serrano and Lavina-Maldonado as two of Philadelphia’s most ambitious songwriters, and the EP backs that up with songs that feel intentionally overstuffed rather than merely chaotic. The duo originally wanted to keep the recordings entirely outside the computer, tracking them in their old Philadelphia apartment and in upstate New York, then revising the material after the first versions did not land the way they wanted.

The result is a debut that feels tactile even when it is most jagged. Cold Court is not trying to make hyperpop neat; it is using the form’s speed and volatility to sharpen hooks that also nod to pop-punk and emo, the sort of mashup that invites comparison to acts like 100 Gecs while still sounding rooted in Philadelphia’s DIY circuit. The band’s earlier single, “Twin,” first surfaced on September 18, 2024, and its companion vinyl issue, “Twin/Spider,” was released that same day on Boiled Records, with the first pressing putting the songs in reverse order before a later pressing corrected it.

Cold Court’s rise has been as much about live reputation as recorded output. The band’s Bandcamp bio says no member is older than 21 or younger than 17, and says the Philadelphia Council Of The Unimpressed dubbed the group “most likely to take the title in 2025” because of its furious live shows. WXPN said Cold Court had mostly played basements around Drexel’s campus before opening for Black Midi at Union Transfer and landing a slot with Deerhoof at Underground Arts, while “Twin” initially circulated only on YouTube, building a mystique that the EP now turns into something more durable.