Pop Evil – “Pop Evil” (eOne)
Pop Evil put their best foot forward on their eponymous
fifth studio album with lead single “Waking Lions,” a near perfect rock anthem
filled with beefy riffs and inspirational lines to spare (‘I'm not afraid, I'm
not gonna stop till / I'll break down this cage, escape from these chains /
You'll never silence my voice, no, I won't go…I wanna stand up, a hundred feet
tall / 'Cause fear will never lead my way / I'm ready to run, a hundred miles
strong / I will never be the same’). That metallic crunch persists through
“Colors Bleed,” which sees the band transform into Rage Against the Machine as
they tackle heady topics like politics, global tensions and humanity (‘Fight
the system, stop and listen / True colors, how can you miss 'em / Born with
knowledge, raise the fist / Face the enemy, just resist’), with frontman Leigh
Kakaty continuing to play the role of Zach de la Rocha on “Ex Machina” (‘Are we
shallow minded slaves? / Are we born to die this way? We pray the world will
break before we sacrifice the human race’) and “Art of War” (‘Without a vote no
voice to complain / Roll me over / Is it over? / Four years til another
campaign’).
From there, “Pop Evil” endures a sonic shift,
transitioning over to the lighter side of the rock spectrum. “Be Legendary,”
while a song destined for heavy rock radio airplay, pales in comparison to the
album’s first four tracks, “Nothing But Thieves” infuses a bit of industrial
into the mix before exploding into something more akin to Pop Evil and from
there, “Pop Evil” falls off some (“A Crime To Remember” sounds like a poor
man’s Imagine Dragons, “When We Were Young” is a great ballad but it gets lost
in the mix). The album does redeem itself at the very end with heartfelt closer
“Rewind.”
“Pop Evil” is a tale of two records, and depending on
which version of Pop Evil you enjoy, whether it be the heavier modern rock side
or the Top 40 poppier side – there is something for everyone here.
Go Download: "Waking Lions"
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