Pup - Morbid Stuff CD

Formed in Toronto five years ago, PUP - comprised of Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula, and Steve Sladowski - quickly became favorites of the punk scene with their first two, critically-beloved albums, winning accolades everywhere from the New York Times to Pitchfork, from NPR and Rolling Stone, and more.

Now, with Morbid Stuff, PUP have grown up and doubled down on everything that made you love their first two records. Its gangs-all-here vocals, guitarmonies, and lyrics about death. Lots of them.

Fitting to their ethos, their new album takes the dichotomy of fun and emotional wreckage in their songs and teeters between gleeful chaos and bleak oblivion while wielding some of the best choruses the band has ever written. Morbid Stuff is also a pretty intense foray into singer Stefan Babcocks fight with depression, and shows, in perfect PUP fashion, how taking responsibility of his own depression lead him to laughter. Admitting his depression allowed Babcock to laugh in its face, and the result is that marriage of darkness and joy that made PUP who they are, but in a brand new way.

Indeed, despite its dark subject matter, at times Morbid Stuff is funny as hell, even in the music. Its the most insightful, sweetest, funniest, sickest, angriest, saddest and most inescapably desperate collection of songs theyve recorded to date.

If their self-titled record was the fuse and The Dream Is Over was the bomb going off, Morbid Stuff is your family sifting through the rubble, only to find you giggling while you bleed to death.