ALBUM REVIEW: PUP Paint Their Pop-Punk Masterpiece

On their third LP, the Canadian punks take on morbid topics with humor and catchy choruses.

On Morbid Stuff, PUP’s third and best album yet, the Canadian punks take on – you guessed it – morbid topics with humor and catchy choruses. The whole album walks the line between the absurdly energetic music and downer lyrics about anxiety, depression and not meeting expectations.

Opener and title track “Morbid Stuff” sets up the theme perfectly in the first 30 seconds, as Stefan Babcock sings, “I was bored as fuck, sitting around and thinking all this morbid stuff, like if anyone I slept with is dead.” The track features half-shouted, half-sung choruses and manages to be fun despite the lyrical content.

For the music video for “Free at Last,” the band requested fans cover the song – by releasing only the lyrics and a basic chord chart. Without little to go on, 253 covers were submitted. The track turned out to be high-energy and catchy as hell.

“See You At Your Funeral” takes the trope of running into your ex to a whole new level – Babcock starts out hoping his ex is fine, gradually progressing to saying he hopes he doesn’t see them until their funeral, and finally to the entire world exploding just to avoid them.

“Full Blown Meltdown,” the heaviest track on the album bordering on metal, takes on the idea of the suffering artist to its extreme. “Bare Hands,” another standout, again sets the lyrics against the music: “Bare hands, holding onto the wire, and I’m always tired.”

With Morbid Stuff, PUP finds a balance between nonsense and seriousness, creating a pop-punk masterpiece that begs to be listened to repeatedly.

Score: 🙃🙃🙃 🙃 🙃/5