Pop. 1280
Imps of Perversion
Reviewed by: Stephen Krock
If nothing else, Pop. 1280 has seen that screaming punk is not dead with their new LP, Imps of Perversion. Once you get past their cool band name, wicked album title, and truly electric opening track “Lights Out,” however, there’s little else to latch onto. While “Lights Out” is a great track, with the fun head banging antics blaring through the affected Brit punk vocals, it’s hard to say whether it stood out because it’s a great song, or because it was simply the first track. All of its successors keep the adrenaline equally high, but to the point that the entirety of Imps is rather static.
There are moments when it seems like the action will take a fun, new twist. Such as in what could have been a mellower track, “Nailhouse,” and “Do the Anglerfish,” which starts off much funkier than its brethren. Both songs, however, devolve into the same pumping, pounding guitar riffs that made that first track so great. Things finally settle down for the closing “Riding Shotgun,” and by then we deserve the rest. It’s a nice enough song, but too little, too late. Pop. 1280 is undoubtedly a fantastic live band, you can’t help but stomp your feet and throw yourself back and forth to them, but the interchangeability among the set list hurts them in the long run.
Rating: Semi-obnoxious
