POP UNKNOWN “The August Division”
If you are a fan of strong, melodic, guitar-driven rock, POP UNKNOWN are pretty darn good. I wasn’t really into this release when I played it for the first time, but after a few more careful listens, there’s a few gems to be found and very tight overall package. “Hydroplane” is a seriously catchy song that’s clearly in the radio-friendly territory, though it’s got plenty of substance to hold up its catchy demeanor. POP UNKNOWN’s identifyer is their terrific use of vocal harmonies, often with three guys singing the choruses. “Contact” has that whole harmonic thing going on strong, and the song itself is quite similar to a heavier WEEZER – full of guitar crunch and soaring vocals. Lyrically, this band intrigues me, especially with the song “As God and Everest,” which is an obvious question of spiritualism and one’s relationship with such – the introspective nature of that song and a few others hits pretty deep. There’s a few quirks to be found on “The August Division,” which include a 20 second waste in the track “Whatnot,” and a song called “Morphine,” which has female vocals and is sung entirely in French. This actually works fairly well and serves as a nice break in between two largely uptempo tunes. Emotions run on track nine, “The Next Big Thing,” which is a scathing diatribe directed towards a “complete unknown” obsessed in trying to make it in Hollywood. “The August Division,” benefits from having a thick production style, but one that’s not too overly clean or polished, though a few of the songs come off as unbalanced. As veterans of their genre (with prior releases on Deep Elm Records) these guys have all the graces of experience on their side, and thus, this is a solidly built album.
Sessions
