Review: ‘Flux’ is new ground for Poppy, for better and worse

Author: Bella Tucker

Most know singer Poppy from her slightly disturbing 2014 YouTube debut. At a whopping 27 million views, her most popular video, “I’m Poppy,” is a video of her saying her name repeatedly for 10 minutes. It was all a scheme for her bubblegum pop debut EP “Bubblebath.” Her most recent album, “Flux,” does not reflect that past discography in the slightest, adopting a ’90s grunge sound — but with a little screamo that makes it a Poppy album.

Flux had some jewels but was an overall miss for my expectations. Unlike her last EP — the heavy metal, noise-filled “EAT” — “Flux” is relatively smooth with not much screaming going on. It’s not necessarily bad, just a complete 180 from her latest releases that fans have become accommodated to. The first three tracks are the peak of the album. The opening of the title track is great, starting with lots of noise and suspenseful sounds that draw you in. The song is about being used in a possessive relationship but “you gotta flux and flow with it.” This song sets the theme for the rest album by stating that she clearly has a problem with someone else.

“Lessen The Damage” will make you want to scream along with Poppy. Someone has crossed her and they have messed up big time. It has an angry tone that makes it upbeat and fun. “So Mean” is a personal favorite of mine. It gives the feeling of the local high school garage band performing in an early-2000s Disney movie. Some songs — namely “On the Level,” “Hysteria” and “Bloom” — are forgettable due to their generic sound. But it picks back up again with the song “Her.” It is about getting to know herself but is written in the third person. Writing about your own struggles in the third person is a unique touch and the song itself is phenomenal.

Nearing the end of the album, things start to slow down. “As Strange As It Seems” is a song of regret with a synthesized sound that perfectly matches the lyrics of Poppy questioning how she got herself here. It gives you an eerie and dreamlike experience. The final song, “Never Find My Place,” is an amazing pick to put at the end of the track list. Its buildup fits so well with the meaning of the song. Starting off relatively slow, she is thinking how she is going to fix the situation she got herself into. It steadily picks up until the bridge of the song when she starts screaming, “You broke into my life” over and over again. The song ends very steadily with the lyrics, “’Cause I know that I will be fine / If I never find my place.”

While this album was different, it was still amazing. “Flux,” which was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, is insanely well-produced and well-thought out, but I hope Poppy sticks more to her metal side on her next album.