PUP’s Self-Titled “PUP” [Review]

At this point, I’ve reviewed every PUP album there is save for their live album “Live at The Electric Ballroom”, which was only available for one day on the band’s Bandcamp page. While you can find that online in some places, I’m probably never going to review a live album, despite this being an amazing one. That leads me to this review of the band’s debut album, the self-titled “PUP”.

My last review was on PUP’s, at the time known as “Topanga”, “Oceans”, a demo tape consisting of 8 songs, 3 of which made it to this album. While “Oceans” was a mix of folk/country/pop/punk music, PUP really cemented their place in the punk scene with the release of their debut album, shifting toward more of a punk and hardcore kind of sound that the band's known for today.

Released on October 8th, 2013, and re-released on April 8th, 2014, PUP’s “PUP” debuted with high praise.

Right out of the gate, PUP hits you with some aggressive guitar work in “Guilt Trip”, showing you that they’re not the band they were a year ago. You’re also immediately greeted with lead singer Stefan Babcock’s vocals being a lot harsher, rawer, and with a bit more bass than we heard on “Topanga”, a welcome change to their sound. The song itself is about a girl whom Babcock was in a relationship with at one point. She ended up manipulating and lying to him as revealed in an interview with Punknews. The song, according to Babcock is one that he enjoyed playing live because it’s just a cathartic release of emotion, something that we can definitely hear with how much screaming the band does on the track. Helped with some killer drums, it’s a great opener to the band’s new name and sound.

In an interview with RiffYou, Babcock explained that “Reservoir” is a song about “escaping the apathy of being in your mid-20s and not knowing what … to do with your life”. It’s a loud and angry song that’s filled with self-indulgent cathartic screaming. The music video for this one is gruesomely bloody, the guitars and drums are just the right kind of muddy, verging on metal, it’s an outstanding punk rock anthem.

One of the few tracks to make it off of the band’s demo tape, “Mabu” is a story all about Babcock’s family car. Once owned by his parents, then passed down to his sister, and finally passed down to him, the song is a way to send off the car that’s gotten him through life. With all of the tracks that were featured on “Oceans”, the ones that made it to “PUP” have been punched up in a way, adding a bit more bass to the track, and tightening things up a lot. The guitars on this track are probably some of the best on the album and the vocals are outstanding.

Changing things up a bit by slowing things down and turning down the aggression just a little bit is “Never Try”. Babcock really flexes his vocal range on this track compared to the ones before. The guitar riffs on this track are standout and they don’t feel like they belong on a punk album at all. However, the one thing that sticks out to me the most on this track is the bridge, which really deals with the hard-hitting fact of having to grow up and leaving all those fond memories of life in the past.

“Yukon” is a real outlier on this album. On the band’s sophomore and junior albums, we hear tracks in the same vein as this one that closes out the album (“Pine Point” and “City” respectively). It’s the longest track on the record by a good 100 seconds, and it’s also the slowest. The song is inspired by Babcock and his sister’s unique camping trips, something we see come up later in the band’s discography in the track “Sibling Rivalry”. Babcock explains in an interview that he and his sister go on crazy camping trips and this song was the result of them hanging out in Yukon for three weeks, doing a lot of drugs, and surviving in the wilderness. The song is almost like a ballad at some points, with a huge focus on some explosive guitar riffs as the song progresses. It’s very reminiscent of a prog-rock epic and really throws you for a bit of a loop compared to the rest of the record.

“Dark Days” is probably one of the best songs on this record hands down. A song about doing your best to push through the rough times, ride or die. Everything about this track is amazing, from the beautiful guitar riffs to the masterful vocals, it’s pure catharsis, high-energy punk rock. It’s a pop-punk anthem that will get stuck in your head and will leave you hopeful for the future.

Another song off of “Oceans”, “Lionheart” is basically the same save for punching up the bass, and tightening things up. It’s the only song by PUP that has no real meaning behind it, but that doesn’t stop it from being an absolute blast to listen to. The bridge is just full of Babcock screaming “Ba-ba-ba-da-ba-dap-ba” and it’s infectious. It’s pure catharsis, and while you’ll never hear it live, it’s so much fun to just sing along to because the lyrics are so simple.

One of the weaker songs on the album, “Cul-De-Sac”, is a breakup song about a relationship that has long passed. While still clinging onto the person you once loved who has no interest in you anymore is something that really sucks and that’s what this track is all about. While there are some solid guitars on this track, it falls a bit short in how unique it is compared to the rest of the album.

The final track of the band’s demo tape is “Back Against The Wall”. The song has been kicked up from a 10 to an 11. Punching up the bass by a mile and Babcock strengthening his vocals, it’s another self-indulgent cathartic release of energy. It tells the story of the band actually making it in the music industry and doing better than ever.

Closing out the album is a “murder ballad” titled “Factories”. The track focuses on the singer working hard to provide for his family but finds out that their wife has been cheating on them while they are at work. While chasing her down, he kills her and leaves her body under a bridge because it’s “what she deserves”. The song ends with the singer being hanged to death, with their last words being “What goes around comes around”. It’s a bit of a weird song lyrically, but it’s pure punk rock, with an amazing instrumental at the end and the band just showing off some of their skills throughout, it’s a wild closer to the album, but a fun one despite the topic.

Final Thoughts

PUP has cemented themselves as an amazing punk band and really made a name for themselves with this album. With the changes made to their demos, and only improving with each album after, there’s a reason why they’ve become one of my favorite bands.

Album Score: 8/10
Favorite Tracks: “Dark Days, Reservoir, Mabu, Lionheart, Factories”