PUP ''Morbid Stuff'' (2019)

Pup is a band I've found about a year ago now, with their explosive sound, earnest screams, and lyrics I could do nothing but love them, with their objectively amazing debut album ''PUP'' and the slightly more experimental and lacklustre ''The Dream Is Over'' I was interested what the next album would hold for me but I was pleasantly surprised to hear more of the same quirks that this band made their own. With heavy and angsty themes such as anxiety, depression and death and the Punk Rock sound this record holds was driven home further.

Utilising songs like ''Closure'' and ''See You At Your Funeral'' PUP addresses that having things left unsaid and that unhappy endings are always an inevitable part of life, along with other valuable life lessons, something the band felt necessary to do seeing they've gone through a few changes since their first album, mainly in numbers. 

With this record PUP refuses to be held back by the Pop Punk label often held against them, embracing pop-tinged melodies on ''See You At Your Funeral'' or going for the whole campfire sing-alongs on the start of ''Scorpion Hill'' and let's not forget to mention the incredible ''Full Blown Meltdown'' which tip toes the lines of Metal with their sludgy, heavy guitar and drums, this record does it all without shame. That's one of the many things to love about this album, frontman Stefan Babcock wasn't afraid to write about his struggle with mental health. Depression and anxiety isn't something to glorify and PUP talks about it the way they do best, through dark tones and tunes that go straight for the jugular.

The guitars are something to embrace from this 4 man band, even if lyrics get a little dull the guitar stays energetic and interesting throughout. PUP has had a knack for memorable riffs and small licks since their debut, on this record they've done it tighter, darker and better resulting in the catchy song ''Kids'' or like mentioned above the sludgy and heavy ''Full Blown Meltdown'', one of my personal favourites on this album. ''City'' also has a different tone for the majority of the song, slow drums and playful guitar strums over sad vocal tones only for the song to start building up around the 2 minute mark and crash into spastic breakdowns near the end. 

8/10

Puppy ''The Goat'' (2019)

 Finding this band through Xisuma's Music Blog a few weeks ago and their general aesthetic of the album cover and titles like Entombed, Bathe In Blood and I Feel An Evil made me prepared for some crazy glamour and heavy metal riffs, I felt slightly relieved when that wasn't exactly the case, I have appreciation for music like that but it doesn't quite satisfy my ears, instead this record came at me with some epic Metal riffage, Alt Rock melodies and pop-tinged infectious hooks.

With their Alt Rock moods and some dabble into Classic Rock licks Puppy makes this Groove Metal track do wonders. Main focus on the guitar work is no exception in many bands but Puppy doesn't feel the need to exaggerate theirs with heavy distortion or cheap thrills. The vocal presence from this 3 man band is nothing to laugh at either, combined with perpetual riffs and tugging tones the constant rockage gives you a sore neck. Beautiful layered harmonics illuminating the whole album and giving off a Deftones like feel.

Continuously intertwining some quirks make sure this record never tires, having had this on repeat almost every other day. The band proudly wears their influences that range from the 70s to the 90s, howling rock solos, glamorous guitar licks and occasional hazy psychedelia are frequently found. Tracks like Handlebars even bring in the heavy churns I've only heard before in KoRn's music. Bathe In Blood is a beautiful combination of metallic riffs, prog-tinged spiraling and the raw emotion often experienced in Deftones' records, making it a surreal listening experience. 

An arsenal of riffs, amazing supportive drumming, crunchy and limitless tunefulness all riding on the currents of sinister undertones make this debut album incredibly accessible, there will be songs for everyone on here, an irresistible spell cast on anyone fortunate enough to come across this band's path. Their easy listening might be the one downside of this record, with so many resources at it's disposal this band would do great with experimenting around with different song lengths or some more daring styles. They're not unfolding their wings and utilising their full potential, this is only their first record though, I am super excited for what they do in the future.

10/10

 Challenger Deep ''Challenger Deep'' (2019)

Showing up in my Spotify Weekly not too long ago this band pulled me in with their allure of strong basslines and powerful instrumentals. I'm glad I've got to know Feed Me Jack and Polyphia before listening to this, getting to know Math Rock better, this band uses a slightly more aggressive and sloppier sound than what I've gotten to love from Feed Me Jack, and in comparison to Polyphia they don't quite have as genius riffs. Another comparison I'll make is to Intervals and Plini, both instrumental bands I've discovered quite recently, Intervals a bit more energetic than Plini but still not on the level of Challenger Deep.

This 4 man boy band's biggest asset on this debut album is their powerful basslines, often taking the front stage for a while with rhythmic riffs, droning onwards, though the main attention is still on the electric guitar, this band's main skill lies on merging technicality and earworm worthy melodies into beautiful songs. With their catchy hooks, electric energy, and graceful technicality these song jump out at you catching you by storm. 

The intro track 'The Bloop (It Begins)' sets atmosphere, a good reference to the geographical name Challenger Deep, the deepest natural point know to date, it gives us a mystical welcome before we get dragged into the frenzied finger tapping guitar work and aggressive machine gun like drumming of 'Welcome to the Show', that's not all they know to do though, punctuated stops and punchy basslines grab you by ear once you start to decipher the sound a little.

For 30 minutes of completely immersing, amazing sound and skilful guitar licks this record has surprisingly little listens, a real shame. In 8 songs the band has outdone itself, selling their point of beautifully merged punctuated technicality and their catchy hooks for their debut album to us like real masters.

8/10