Poppy - ZIG album Review

Poppy is back once again with more new music and this time she drops a brand-new album akin to I Disagree onto our laps. A few songs on here I heard prior to the album's drop as they were released as singles. Zig is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Poppy, released on October 27, 2023, through Sumerian Records.

Church Outfit

Kicks off the album with its synthy bass followed by aggressive vocals from Poppy. Interesting start to the album maybe more synth, bass like instrumentals to follow. Poppy has explored and experimented with many genre's maybe this album will be metal/electronica.

Knockoff

Once again another catchy synthy club bass song. I love the chorus of this and how Poppy sings it and the accompanying vocals "I want to know" is so good. It's such a catchy one, it got stuck in my head and was played on repeat when this dropped as a single.

Hard

The most recent released single from the album, follows the tune of the last few with some more of the industrial, synth instrumental with poppy's soft sing-song voice. Quite a catchy chorus too. Oh, dear lord we get aggressive around the 1:45 mark before calming back down.

What It Becomes

This one starts off with the strong violin and then Poppy sings with silence which echoes and whirs as the instruments swell and build up. Around the 2min mark we get this distorted slowed voice before Poppy comes back with her softly sung lines.

Flicker

This kicks off with sort of electronic drum and bass along with Poppy's soft vocals, and we get some more violins to close it out.

1S + OS

Electronic and synthy as Poppy commands the track with her confident vocals following the chorus I feel. I dig this one.

Zig

The album's title track plays now, and it's quite a synthy electro pop song to kick off. This is damn catchy! Ooof them synthy breakdowns and then we get a chugging riff and some booming kick drums as we build up to the chorus and boom "when you zig, i zag, when you zig, i zag, i zig zag." Oh yeah this feels like something The Matrix films would use in the soundtrack or John Wick films in a club fight scene.

Linger

A slow acoustic stripped back start with this one until 1min mark where we get the electro feel back into this track. It's a nice one.

The Attic

Its soft, but we quickly get caught up in the fast-paced drum and bass. It's a lot to take it in, and I do feel the fast drum bass is a bit much but when the chorus swells and erupts it's a nice addition which ends with a few lovely piano tones.

Motorbike

Alright get on, we got a robotic lady walking us into the track before Poppy swiftly takes over as the robot accompanies as some back up vocals at points. The chorus is so fast and catchy, and it's good. I admit when I first heard this when it dropped as a single I was not into it but now after hearing all of the album to now and hearing this again in my headphones, I am moving and singing along best I can to it haha.

Prove It

Time for the last song on this album, almost distorted vocals and piano keys kick off this track before the vocals get more sharp and distorted as the drum and bass pounds. The chorus and vocals are quite stunning. Around 1:21 in the song we get more distorted and synth and drum and bassy. All before the track slows back down with its chorus and fades out with electronic static, that's it folks.

Although the album clocks in with 11 tracks which only lasts around 30 mins total for the album, she covers a lot of ground with tracks capturing different emotions and feels. Poppy said it best "when you zig, I zag" as she continues to branch out and explore the different musical genre's and styles of instruments to accompany her wonderful voice and creative talents. Poppy is ever evolving and creating, and I love how she does it. The themes of the album are that of love and disconnection and also a sense of empowerment, that's what I am taking away from this album. Although "I Disagree" is still my fave album from Poppy, this one is a nice entry onto her album catalogue and I will always recommend Poppy to people searching for new music because she has something for everyone and I feel she is so overlooked and underrated.

7/10

Punk Rock Factory - It's Just a Stage We're Going Through (ALBUM REVIEW)

Come take a trip to the sausage factory to listen to Welsh punk rockers new musical covers album. Punk Rock Factory are a high energy welsh band who bring the punk rock nature to songs we already know BUT have never heard them before. PRF formed in late 2014 in South Wales, Uk, Peej (vocals, guitar), Benj (bass, vocals), Ryan (guitar) and Kob (drums, vocals), PRF combine everything you love about 1990s/2000s punk rock, and reimagine classic and hit songs like you've never heard them before and are now embarking into the musicals. PRF record, mix, film, write and pretty much have done and do everything from their home base studio titled "The Sausage Factory" and they gained a lot of success from these brilliant takes on classic hits and during the lockdown era of life in the UK they gartered up thousands of followers and views from social media apps like TIKTOK, which is where I discovered them and fell in love with the bands covers and I shared them about with friends to ensure they see the magic that is PRF, and they are only growing bigger, larger, better with fans and followers worldwide alike. They frequently bring friends along to their music to collab and enjoy the fun and to date the band has had guest performances from members of acts such as Protest the Hero, Bowling for Soup, Ice Nine Kills, Mest, Rufio, Ten Foot Pole, Zebrahead aswell as Encanto star Jessica Darrow and many more!

It's Just A Stage We're Going Through released on all music platforms and physical copies on March 31st. Be sure to check it out and purchase it where you get your music from.

The Tracklist

1: Rewrite The Stars

2: You'll Be Back

3: Waving Through A Window

4: December 1963 (Oh What A Night)

5: Defying Gravity

6: I Dreamed A Dream

7: City Of Stars

8: Mama Mia

9: Shallow

10: You're The One I Want

11: I Will Follow Him

There were no doubts that the kings of turning any song into a punk rock classic would churn out another belter of an album especially considering the way they went here with turning some of the classic iconic hits of musicals into punk rock tunes and boy, oh boy, they are chunes! On paper or in theatres these songs you know and love you may go "how could a band cover musicals and turn them punk rock?" well this question you ponder is answered, solved and heard here in PRF's newest album of course. The album starts off strong with Rewrite The Stars, and then we are hit with Hamilton heavyweight You'll Be Back, and then we get a sort of sombre song from Waving which does not feel so sombre but feels sort of like a battle cry anthem. There are songs here I never knew or heard of prior to this so my image of those songs will be just incomparable compared to this first time hearing them here on this album. The songs I have never heard prior to PRF's versions are You'll Be Back, Waving Through A Window, Defying Gravity and City Of Stars, and now I am afraid of hearing the original versions because I know they won't even come close to the epic-ness that Punk Rock Factory installed upon them with their takes. Defying Gravity for example I have always heard from friends who seen the musical Wicked that it is a song that even the most classical trained singers struggle with singing but here I felt it was perfect, Peej did it justice. I do feel a lot of the songs I don't know are ones which I need to grow into more with so with time I am sure to appreciate and love them more, but I am impressed and I enjoyed this album. You can without a doubt headbang, dance and sing in your underpants having the time of your life to these versions of those iconic hit musicals.

8/10

So if you want fun with friends, family or even strangers and want to down a few good pints and have a laugh together Punk Rock Factory always has your back, and It's Just A Stage We're Going Through backs that up once more from the band's amazing discography. 

Last weekend Saturday 25th March I watched the boys put on a hell of a show in a sold out Cardiff, Great Hall and I cannot wait to see them again! Thanks for reading my sausages!

Stay Punky!