Canadian pop-punk and alternative band PUP (“DVP”) released two singles on Nov. 9, titled “Waiting” and “Kill Something.” These new tracks hint at an upcoming album release, but as of now, no album has been announced. A new album for PUP would follow up on the 2019 release “Morbid Stuff,” the band’s third studio album. “Waiting” and “Kill Something” would not feel even slightly out of place on any of the band’s albums, and they have a similar compositional feel to tracks like “Free at Last” and “Morbid Stuff,” respectively.
“Waiting” is a guitar heavy composition that, similarly to tracks from “Morbid Stuff” features lead singer Stefan Babcock drifting between talking and singing. This style has become synonymous with frontmen like Brian Sella of The Front Bottoms (“The Plan”) and Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou (“Tie Me Up! Untie Me!”), and PUP has a similar sound to these groups. The song deals lyrically with the issues of addiction, utilizing linguistic double meanings and discussing topics the genre typically handles like depression and relationship issues. Throughout the track, Babcock grapples with his own mental health and the effectiveness of therapy, with lyrics such as “Two hundred bucks a week to talk about my lack of direction? I got a bit of a complex, in case that wasn’t clear from the last three sessions.” While discussing mental health and feelings of inadequacy and depression are certainly not new within the pop-punk genre, the open nature of Babcock’s writing is refreshing.
Musically, “Waiting” is incredibly similar to PUP’s earlier releases, featuring Babcock’s vocals over strong and upbeat guitars from Babcock himself (rhythm) and Steve Sladkowski (lead). In true PUP fashion, the verses are more spoken than sung. The transition to the chorus is sudden and stark, creating a great dichotomy between verse and chorus.
“Kill Something” is initially different from its partner track in the way it reverses the format set by “Waiting.” The song has a much more somber and subdued nature from its offset, and deals with ideas just as sensitive as the previous track. Babcock’s writing in “Kill Something” is maybe his most deep and existential yet. While “Waiting” suggests Babcock is maintaining proximity to someone in hopes of starting (or perhaps resuming) a relationship, “Kill Something” serves as the yang of the two tracks. Babcock suggests discontent with the situation he finds himself in: “And if I’ve got nothing to prove, Why do I do the things I do? I don’t want to be locked up, I just wanna kill something I love.”
While the song builds in intensity and volume, the reflective and depressive nature persists. This type of tone is not necessarily unique to this track, as the band has experimented with songs of this nature before like “Scorpion Hill,” and thus the song is not groundbreaking in any significant manner for the band.
If the remainder of an upcoming release from PUP is of the same quality as “Waiting” and “Kill Something,” there is cause to be excited for fans of the band and of the pop-punk genre. The clever yet occasionally childish witticism of Babcock’s lyrics combined with the band’s musicianship and ability to create memorable melodic phrases is continued in these two singles, making it hardly a pathetic use of potential.
Image from puptheband via YouTube
