Popstar - Obscene

by Adrian Janes

published: 29 / 10 / 2024

Label: Popstar
Format: Download

Industrious Minneapolis duo Popstar debut with metal machine music.

Review

Fittingly, for a band who are likely to be categorised as ‘industrial’, the tracks on this EP are forged from an alloy of sources. Both ‘Afterparty’ and ’20:20 Vision’ attack with raw-throated hardcore-style vocals and great slabs of bass, with a Chemical Brothers’ Big Beat crashing in on the one, a grinding metal riff and bass drum striking home on the other. Tranquil Edenic visions are not what come to mind on being assailed by ‘Paradise’. There is a similar approach to the first two tracks, switching between the all-out aggression of an urgent riff, and something a little more muted, here in the form of murky reverbed vocals. In fact, that same basic breakdown could also be applied to ‘Souls’. Introduced with some heavy metal riffing, this drops away to leave space for the entry of more yelled vocals. The galloping rhythm makes it perhaps an extra shade of relentless than the other songs. Since instrumental and rhythmic aggression are so much to the fore, there is little room left for quaint considerations like melody or lyrics. Nonetheless, there is a real power and a fragmentary musicality to this EP, especially on ‘Afterparty’. If you enjoy being aurally bludgeoned in the manner of vintage Nine Inch Nails, yet with tracks of a Ramones-like brevity, Popstar are for you.