IN REVIEW: PUP - "Morbid Stuff"

One of the most endearing, enjoyable moments on PUP's excellent 2016 album The Dream is Over was the fiery single If This Tour Doesn't Kill You I Will; over a rollicking, jagged musical backdrop, Stefan Babcock despaired about his bandmates and the tensions that come from spending long hours in a cramped space with sweaty dudes on tour. It was as funny as it was biting, and its dramatization of trivial problems helped establish PUP as one of the most exciting young bands of the decade.

On Morbid Stuff, the focus shifts to the internal, addressing Babcock's mental health and the pitfalls of growing older in these harsh modern times. Musically, the band is maturing as well, drifting away from the punkier tendencies of their previous releases in favour of ragged indie flair, though they do prove by times that they're still willing to throw down, such as on the incendiary Full Blown Meltdown.

However, even the most melodic moments on Morbid Stuff are plenty energetic; take the punchy lead single Kids, the fleet jangle of Free At Last or the grungy power pop gem See You At Your Funeral. Scorpion Hill starts off as a slow, sad acoustic number before exploding into a breakneck paced rocker (before morphing again into its riff-heavy half timed chorus). There's also some serious fretwork found throughout, perhaps most notably in the speedy intro to Sibling Rivalry and the twisting lead found in Bare Hands.

Considering the darkness of the subject matter, though, there's something wholly affirming about Morbid Stuff; this isn't the sound of a man or band in the throes of defeat, rather kicking and screaming against the darkness. It's triumphant in its delivery, finely tuned in its performance and displays tremendous growth in its writing. Morbid Stuff could have been bogged down in its despair, and yet finds a way to rise above the noise in a way that, against all odds, positions it as one of the year's most feel good albums.

April 5, 2019 • Little Dipper/Universal
Highlights Morbid Stuff • See You At Your Funeral • Sibling Rivalry