ALBUM REVIEW: Skeletons – Pop Evil

Skeletons; whether they’re in the closet or in our bodies, we all have them. While that fact is nothing new, the approach POP EVIL seem to take when talking about our humanity has changed. No longer do we have the fluff of Versatile (2021), instead seventh album Skeletons cuts much closer to the bone.

The hard rock outfit offers up 11 tracks which promise to be more up-beat and have bigger riffs. As 22-second intro track Arrival seeps through the speaker, we wonder whether POP EVIL have abandoned their rock roots altogether in favour of a new world of electronica. Yet recent single Paranoid (Crash & Burn) flows seamlessly from its atmospheric predecessor. A cautionary tale that we cannot always trust our own minds, “the voice in your head is a threat” rings true on more than one plane of existence. What we have here is material which already sounds much bigger than Versatile’s Breathe Again. The riff from Dave Grahs before the song even kicks in is precise and heavy. Where the verses cut to the bone, the melodic choruses add some flesh to the idea we all feel dead inside from time to time. Leigh Kakaty’s vocals are already much stronger on this effort. Safe to say Skeletons gets off to a strong start. A scream of “get out of my head” before POP EVIL’s version of a breakdown is simply sublime in dragging us into the world of their creation.

In moments like that, what would be the best approach to deal with the inability to trust yourself? In the words of Circles: “Get outta your head”. The usual POP EVIL thread of encouragement that people are a lot more capable than they believe appears. Kakaty’s vocal delivery borders on rap rock of the PAPA ROACH territory. “The pain will fade before you know” speaks to the sentiment that nothing in this life is permanent, even the way we feel. Grahs’ riff pushes the circle through each revolution as we’re encouraged to “follow the circle”. By following this circle, we’re led to Eye Of The Storm, which was many people’s first taste of Skeletons. It again follows the theme of growing through what we’re going through. The track becomes a combination of perfectly balanced rock and electronic elements which resemble the chaos around us. While it slows for a melodic chorus, it still conveys a feeling of grandeur. When put together with the improvement in Kakaty’s vocals between Versatile and now, Eye Of The Storm shows this band do their best work under pressure.

Battle lines are drawn with Sound Of Glory, a track surrounding Hayley Cramer’s driving percussion. Where POP EVIL fall short of the mark is the execution of the song. The tone sits slightly too high and needs a bottom end for it to be the rally cry intended. While the band proclaim “I’m moving the ocean” the motion in this ocean leaves a little to be desired. Substance aside, the chorus is catchy and they certainly get the adrenaline pumping. Though this should not be a work of style over substance. Moving into the title track, we’re greeted by a slower instrumental. Written around the notion of becoming saturated by the negativity our current climate has to offer, the song haunts us. “Every time I turn on the news I get a ringside seat to hell” rings true of the impending doom our news broadcasts leave us with. With negativity seemingly everywhere we turn, we become “lonely skeletons” who isolate ourselves within our misery. A fuller second verse complete with Matt DiRito’s buzzing bassline, Skeletons becomes a full-bodied song. It’s again very catchy and a window into the mind of a band working through their own mental tribulations.

Sometimes these trials get the better of us which is where Worth It comes into play. Though slower like the title track, its tone seems somewhat brighter until the lyrics float in. “Trying to sleep again just for the sake of silence” is something which so many relate to yet can’t put into words. Where the verses become so relatable, the chorus muddies the message slightly. It could be interpreted in so many ways, which for a song which wants to banish ambiguity isn’t the best signal to be sending out. On the flipside, the song structure and the time POP EVIL took to curate this inspirational track does pay off. With Cramer’s drums pushing the song forward and Nick Fuelling’s understated guitar solo, Worth It isn’t so much an in-your-face “you’ve got this”, it’s more of a gentle push of encouragement for someone whose mental energy has depleted. Things improve with Who Will We Become. Not extensively so as the track does feel a little filler and forgettable but it has its strong points. The instrumental is boombastic. The faithful catchy POP EVIL chorus makes a return which would make this a grower rather than a shower. It just could have been a lot more than what it was.

A somewhat strange move by POP EVIL is the inclusion of guest features at the end of the album. Skeletons ends with a menage a trois with Blake Allison (DEVOUR THE DAY), Ryan Kirby (FIT FOR A KING), and ZILLION. Each song comes with its own very different sound, to the point they become disjointed and would have been better placed dotted throughout Skeletons. Wrong Direction starts as a very dark song talking about the “chaos and confusion” of our modern world. However when Allison’s vocal joins with the chorus, there is a hint of pop-punk or pop rock energy. There are moments of edge from POP EVIL here which try to save the track but it steps too far into the pop rock territory. A crowning achievement for POP EVIL is Dead Reckoning. It’s a heavy and aggressive track, much heavier than any of the band’s previous output. The addition of Kirby is simply sublime. “I’m running through hell / I’m running through sorrow” houses a wonderful chug and ferocity. Yet it is the scream of “you will not destroy me” into POP EVIL’s heaviest instrumental section to date which seals the deal of this being Skeletons‘ best track and arguably POP EVIL’s greatest song.

Had Skeletons ended there, we would have had very little quibbles with it. Yet Raging Bull should not have closed the album. ZILLION’s feature of boast rap is absolutely a great moment for this track, but after something like Dead Reckoning, anything would have done a disservice to POP EVIL. What Raging Bull becomes though is the closer that shouldn’t be as it’s forgettable on the whole. Where Versatile fell, Skeletons picked up and improved upon. Are there bigger riffs? Absolutely. It’s not as ‘up-tempo’ as claimed but there are many facets to POP EVIL and this is something they are more than willing to capitalise on. It doesn’t always pay off. When it does though, we’re presented with solid hard rock tracks which more than make up for what Versatile became. This is a band on the course of reinvention and should they follow the path of the well-executed tracks, they are on a trajectory to further increase their success and fanbase. Could we see a metalcore leaning POP EVIL album? We wait in anticipation.

Rating: 7/10

Skeletons is out now via MNRK Heavy.

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