With its fair share of mesmeric highlights, Poptones’ second album is frothing with majesty and promise.
On Pure, Poptones sound like a band with something to prove. Their brash unpredictability, combined with a newly broadened instrumental palette complete with saxophones and slide guitars, makes them both immediate and eclectic. Naturally, such an adventurous fusion results in a few missteps but at its best, Pure is electrifying.
Opener ‘Skin Of Sea’ sets an ominous atmosphere with its whispered vocals and quivering guitar, both of which are hallmarks of the album’s sound as singer Mads Bertelsen muses on being engulfed and overwhelmed by the natural world: “Does anyone listen?” he repeats, a refrain that’s left to linger uneasily.
From there, the album retreats inwards looking for its answers, with the pounding drums and screeching guitars on ‘Say Something Now’ making it a striking highlight. It’s one of many songs about the worlds we create in our heads; how said worlds are ultimately fleeting and will never be more than just dreams. Most of this album is about looking to withdraw, trapped in the claustrophobia of the visceral distortion that cloak almost every song here, with a lot of yearning for simpler times and retreating inward searching for clarity.
As euphoric and soaring as this album sounds at its best – ‘Thin Air’ being the best song on the album in that vein – the core of Pure is achingly sad. Even songs that imply some happiness like the optimistically titled ‘This Will Be A Good Day’ have the same quaking tones and understated vocals that give you the sense something uncertain is creeping around every corner of the album, and it’s a brilliant song for it.
However, all of that ambition does lead to a few undercooked moments. There’s a particular squeaking tone that runs throughout ‘Asleep’ and ‘Eyes Closed’ that feels less experimental and more headache inducing. Similar case for the beeping noises lodged into the hook of ‘Mirror World’.
These moments stand to prove that this is a band looking to push boundaries and see what they can get away with, which will no doubt serve them well. There’s no getting around the fact Poptones are a unique entity in rock music, and if you’re looking for a walloping, chaotic listen with surprising emotional heft, this will do more than enough to satisfy.
featured image: ‘Say Something Now’ video still
