gainst the Crowd, the debut and ultimately final album by Lithuanian duo Perfect Tense, arrives in 2026 as a remarkable document of friendship, musical persistence and a creative partnership spanning more than four decades.
Formed in Vilnius in 2012 by Audrius Daukša (keyboards, vocals) and Dainius
Blažys (guitars), Perfect Tense grew out of a musical relationship that began much earlier. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, both musicians were members of the Lithuanian rock group Vacuum (1976–1983), a band remembered for several popular Lithuanian-language songs, including Paskutinė Cigaretė, Metai and Svajoklis. Vacuum also explored an international repertoire, performing material by artists including Supertramp, 10cc, Wild
Cherry, Styx and Queen.
Those early influences would ultimately inform the musical direction of Perfect Tense.
The duo began recording Against the Crowd in their home studio, working gradually over a number of years. The recording process continued until 2018, resulting in an album that would prove to be both their first and, tragically, their last.
Audrius Daukša passed away in January 2020. Following his death, Dainius Blažys undertook the painstaking task of revisiting, refining and completing the existing recordings. With the technical support of longtime friend Gintautas Rakauskas, and the expertise of renowned Lithuanian musician and sound engineer Romas
Rainys, the original home-studio material was carefully polished and prepared for release.
In 2026, Against the Crowd finally reaches listeners worldwide.