Written by Spike Sidor

ULTRA POP

The Armed ULTRAPOP Review Album Cover

THE ARMED

2021 METALCORE/NOISE-ROCK

Ultra Pop is the fourth album from punk-y noise blasters The Armed. This is a band that has always been in my peripheral vision, half-heartedly keeping an eye on new releases, dearly hoping for a breakthrough but not expecting one. Then I see this full length is suddenly out, a few highly favorable reviews, a slick album art with ULTRAPOP emblazoned across its face. Could be that they’ve dug deep, polished their sound, found their songwriting butter zone, the usual positive artistic progressions. I can safely say with a shake of the head and apathetic shrug that The Armed have not done it. The sonic quality on the record is miserable, they’ve taken all the ingredients of a delicious dish, thrown them in a blender and tightly packed the unsightly slop into a hard cube. I don’t get what the purpose of the production is. Why take the nasty riffs, percussion, and impassioned vocals and turn them into a homogenized wall of shit? The compression is freakish, and in moments borderline tortuous, it’s quite the magic trick to make two minutes feel like ten, exhausting the mind with auditory sprints.

Maybe this could be overcome with stellar songcraft or terrific riffs, but that’s not here either, the listener is trapped in a claustrophobic desert. Not to paint it as all bad, there are good tracks that are heightened by listening to them in isolation, without the surrounding trudge of monotony. The variety of vocal styles on ALL FUTURES adds much needed texture with a catchy chorus and yeah yeahs that are reminiscent of Idles and other brit punks. The savage pounding of the guitar licks on BIG SHELL and the femme vocals are great but they get swallowed up by the very nature of the production. BAD SELECTION thankfully quiets things down, finally a reprieve from the endless broadsides, and when the noise arrives it feels more earned. It’s depressing to say that with its position at the back end of the record I’m unsure if the extra sonic space is genuinely good or if my ears are so desperate for reprieve that even blank silence would do. I suppose if you are really into metalcore and math-y noise then give this a listen but for all other listeners don’t hurt yourself. It’s a shame too, here’s hoping The Armed spread their wings but for now, they return to a seldom visited corner of my mind. 

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BORIS 2020 PUNK/DOOM-METAL/HARDCORE