Pop. 1280 are a Brooklyn based cyberpunk/industrial/noise rock band who released their debut full-length album back in 2012. Going into the release of their third full-length this year, I had no prior experience with the band, and had very little of an idea of what to expect. Thanks to the band's fusion of old school synth/electronic elements with loud, haunting, industrial and noise rock, they truly were able to give me a pleasant surprise.
The most accurate description for what Paradise resembles, is if Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor decided to get together and make the soundtrack for an 80's horror film. The raw, in your face vocal style found on tracks like Phantom Freighter and the seven minute epic In Silico are very reminiscent of Manson's early work, and the upbeat electronic/industrial production has clearly been inspired by Reznor's early work with Nine Inch Nails. It may sound like an odd concept on paper, or maybe it sounds like something you've heard already with Manson's highly regarded debut Antichrist Superstar, but this album is unlike anything I've personally ever heard.
From the opening track Pyramids on Mars that features an intro comparable to the beginning of Michael Jackson's classic Beat It, to the title track Paradise that features almost exclusively a voice that sounds as if it's being played back through a portable recorder, the atmosphere created throughout this record is one of both fear and darkness. At times it feels as if Pop. 1280 are barking at you with their incredibly loud instrumentation and raw vocals, and at other times it feels as if you're watching a masked killer chase a group of teenage girls through a forest. Tracks like the aforementioned In Silico manage to capture and hold your imagination for it's seven minute runtime, while a track like Rain Song also manages to stay interesting despite containing simply dissonant industrial noises and frontman Chris Bug's vocals. As the track progresses the distant synth sound in the background helps create a very visual and eerie feeling, and makes it easily one of my favorite cuts from the album.
On my first listen through, the album was a blur. It sounded like a 39 minute mess that was trying to be too much. Now, however, with each listen I give the album, it grows. The atmosphere becomes more evident, the ambient moments help make the noisier tracks that much angrier and more enjoyable. It's just as much what the band doesn't do on Paradise as it is what they actually do that helps make this album what it is.
Unfortunately, much of the atmosphere that was built up and used to further the album is lost when the final track hits, as Kingdom Come is a anti-climatic finisher that ends up being the most disappointing moment of the whole album. The song appears to be building and building, leading to what you'd expect to be a post-rock-esque crescendo, but unfortunately that never comes fully to fruition, and instead the closer feels as if it's just a lyrical onslaught being screamed over a very short uninspired loop of instrumentation. While perhaps another intriguing concept for the band to toy with, it left me feeling a little bit cold. The band does attempt the climatic finish within the final minute or so of the track, but the lacklustre first half of the song takes away from what could have been an exciting conclusion.
On Paradise, Pop. 1280 created an album that is a visceral, chilling experience. Not only is the band able to take influence from a plethora of artists and apply it at a high level, but they always find themselves creating a sound that is truly unique. Not only is this easily one of the most atmospheric records I've heard early on this year, but it's also one of the most throughly enjoyable.
Favorite Tracks: Phantom Freighter, In Silico, Paradise, Rain Song,
Least Favorite Tracks: Kingdom Come
Rating: 4/5
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