Sometimes I like an artist enough to buy everything they put out and sometimes it is a more of a hit-and-miss affair. This next artist is the latter.
Disc 1916 is…Zig
Artist: Poppy
Year of Release: 2023
What’s up with the Cover? If someone was seeking to capture Poppy, they probably shouldn’t have tied a sharp sword in the middle of her bonds. Not only is she going to find it easier to escape, when she inevitably does get out, she’s going to have a sword handy.
It takes that whole “capture the heroine but keep all their stuff conveniently unlocked in the room next door” to another level of ill-advised. I bet before they left her unattended, our villain went ahead and told Poppy all their schemes in full detail as well.
That villain is so getting a well-deserved stabbing.
How I Came To Know It: I first discovered Poppy through her 2020 album “I Disagree”. I tend to give her new releases a chance. As noted in the teaser, sometimes they’re good enough to buy and sometimes not. This one fell on the “good” side of the ledger.
How It Stacks Up: Poppy has seven full-length records, but as I noted in the teaser, they’re not always my cup of tea. I only have three of them, with “Zig” coming in at…#3. Last place or the bronze medal, depending on what kind of day you’re having.
Ratings: 3 stars
A Poppy record is hard to predict. It might be…poppy (sorry), or it might be more rock or even a hint of metal. It might even try a few outfits on for size on the same record. I tend to like Poppy more when she embraces that harder edge, and on “Zig” she just doesn’t do that enough.
This record is heavy on the bass beats and electronica. The kind of thing you could do on a single synthesizer, but only if you were really good at it. This isn’t Casio-in-the-basement fare, although there is that element in there if you listen for it.
Things start off with a bang. On “Church Outfit” we get the Poppy I like best. The electronic beats underpinning the song are distorted and evocative of guitar. It is catchy, danceable and when it fully kicks in, it’s got a bit of the ole headbang in there as well. This soft/hard/soft/hard internal tension is where Poppy does her best work. We’ve got the insistent dance beat, a mix of sugary pop vocals with some angry snarl mixed in. The lesson – lyrically and musically – you can be pretty and dangerous at the same time.
This is followed up with full-on club banger. “Knockoff” is a song about how high fashion is better than the cheap knockoffs. Saying what the song is about might suggest a lot of deep thought going on, and lyrically there isn’t. It’s a clever and catchy pop tune but saying “I like designer stuff” isn’t exactly ocean-level deep.
There are more than a few tunes on here that feel this way – a concept or image only partially explored. A musical idea that’s compelling at first but doesn’t develop into something greater. It is a testament to how effortlessly Poppy generates a catchy beat that these half-finished thoughts are still a good time.
At other times, she resorts to unneeded gimmickry when the song’s bones are plenty good enough to hold the song together (case in point – “devil voice underwater” effects on “What It Becomes”). It is almost like Poppy gets bored with what she’s doing and wants to throw in some other effect or element just for kicks. Sometimes one fewer kick would be preferred.
This self-possessed confidence is sexy and dangerous in equal measure. Maybe a bit unhinged as well, in a sort of ‘Lost Boys hanging off the trestle’ kind of way. She keens away as the train rattles overhead, and you wonder if she’s in mortal danger or just a vampire having you on. On some songs she soars, and on some she falls, but either way you can’t deny she’s exploring the space.
Near the end of the record we get the sexy catwalk flair of “Motorbike.” This song is fashion, funk, and completely over the top. If ever there was a song that needs to be part of a “Lip Sync for Your Life” on RuPaul’s Drag Race, this is it. Pure fun with a dance beat that demands you dance now or leave the club in shame.
Best tracks: Church Outfit, Knockoff, The Attic, Motorbike
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