Album Review: PUP - Morbid Stuff (2019)

Morbid Stuff is the highly anticipated new studio album from Canadian punk rock band PUP. On their third album can they fulfil the high expectations that the hype machine demands?

I have to admit, I completely slept on PUP.  I missed the release of their self-titled debut (both times! - it was released in 2012 and re-released in 2014) and a few years later the follow up, The Dream Is Over, also completely passed me by.

In my defence my finger wasn't on the pulse back then and I refused to pay money for a streaming platform (invaluable for discovering new music) when I had a huge catalogue of MP3s on my laptop painstakingly ripped from CDs bought over the previous decade. I could stream those to my phone for free so why bother spending the money?

Eventually I realised that due to my thrifty stubbornness aka tight-fisted Scottishness, I was missing out on a tonne of great new music and a tonne of great new bands; PUP are one of the very best around.

Kids, the lead single from Morbid Stuff, was my first and very recent introduction to the band. My interest was immediately piqued because it's just an undeniably brilliant burst of melodic punk genius.

The lead guitar intro lick is take-no-prisoners catchy, it quickly bursts into chunky riffs, booming bass, stomping drums and crack-for-your-ears gang vocals.

It's a combination that's going to make you move. The jaded lyrics, spat with cynicism and wit are fun to listen to and fun to sing along to. You can't not join in. You can't not move your body. But that's this entire album in a nutshell. 

The title track Morbid Stuff is genuinely one of the best openers to any album I've heard, ever. It's going to be a song that everyone at every PUP gig is going to sing every single word along to and it's going to be amazing every single time.

What makes it so great? Maybe it's the lamenting commentary on past mistakes, maybe it's those perfectly timed gang vocals, maybe it's that first ska-punk-esque chorus bringing back nostalgia for Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish. Whatever it is, it's fucking aural caviar.

Gang vocals often get criticised for being an overused gimmick but PUP have mastered the art of knowing exactly when and where to throw in those glorious tandem shouts for maximum impact. It means that each song evokes that feeling of being in a crowd of hundreds of strangers all belting out the words as hard and as loud as they can and that's a beautiful thing.

The title track is immediately followed up by Kids before launching into Free at Last and as a trio of songs that's one hell of an opening salvo of punk rock perfection.

Free at Last reminds me a little of Feeder's Just a Day partly due to it's explosive intro, fun energetic nature, eminently sing-along "just 'cause you're sad again, it doesn't make you special at all" chorus and partly due to the DIY video made up of clips of fans covering the song. It's a real banger that just doesn't let up.

See You At Your Funeral opens with a much more laid back style with fantastic staccato drum fills and ramshackle lead guitars. Despite it's more slacker vibe the rolling vocal hooks just go on and on and on and on.

PUP have an incredible ear for melody and you'll be whistling those little guitar licks and vocal quirks, tapping out those drum beats and fills and humming those riffs as you go about your daily business.

Scorpion Hill, starts as a dreamy late night campfire jam before slamming into an incredible uplifting guitar line over driving drums and jangling riffs - it gives me chills every time. It's an utterly essential listen, stunning in its execution, which you would expect to be a tough act to follow.

Despite the genius of what comes before it, Closure rises to the challenge and impresses with its jaunty, gliding verses and thumping chorus with those shouts of "I need closure!" really hitting an emotional high.

The next track Bloody Mary, Kate And Ashley delights with a tumbling, swaggering and almost out of tune intro. You'll be belting out the truly infectious "Are you real or fake? Are you alive, am I awake?" before you realise what happened and you'll still be doing it for weeks to come.

There are just so many unforgettable vocal hooks and melodies on this album. Every song is absolutely stuffed full of them and Sibling Rivalry has some of the most memorable and cathartic examples combining massive gang vocals with a powerful driving stomp and shuddering guitars.

Full Blown Meltdown, as you might expect from that title, takes a wonderfully heavy turn with searing vocal screams, antagonistic spoken word, huge thrashing bending riffs, boiling bass bounce and stampeding drums. Utterly unstoppable. 

After that aggressive release of power and anger, Bare Hands cools things off a touch musically but lyrically remains just as hard hitting with the roars of "bare hands holding onto the wire" telling you everything you need to know.

Finally, City, which might just remind you a touch of some of the more tender moments by Brand New, closes out the album. It starts off slow and beautifully heartbreaking before churning, writhing and growling to an unforgettable screeching and squealing conclusion. A fantastic way to sign off a fantastic record.

Whilst I've referenced a few bands from the late 90s and early 00s to describe elements of their sound, PUP are very much their own thing. What they do is take the very best aspects of what's gone before, perfect it, add to it and craft cutting yet uplifting, emotionally engaging and downright fun music. It's joyous, hits every nostalgia bone in my body and makes me feel ten years younger when I hear it.

If you have any love for punk rock, pop punk and indie rock then you're going to love PUP and you're going to love Morbid Stuff. 

This is a group of musicians performing at the top of their game and absolutely loving it. All hail PUP.

Morbid Stuff is out now on all your usual streaming platforms. If you prefer to get physical you can pick up a copy here.

If you like what you hear then don't forget to check out their debut and sophomore albums too. Finally, support the band and go see them live. Their current UK tour dates are sold out but they'll be back in November, check that out here.

Interested in discovering some more new music from 2019? Check out these alternative playlists for January, February and March (PUP feature in all three).

Peace.

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