Poppy - Zig ALBUM REVIEW 

Her cover of Spit is truly insane

Just cuz Poppy zigged didn’t mean you had to zag Anthony

“I’m not really married to her” I’m shocked and devastated that you would put this facade up for this long

No Anthony, you don't get to call Poppy Poopy.

It took me awhile to open up to this, but now after a few listens I love it. I was disappointed in the lead up that we weren’t getting more rock poppy, but I honestly don’t think Poppy will stick to anything for long. You never know what you’ll get on the next Poppy album, which is what I’ve grown to like about her. Surprisingly, I actually think this had more of a direction than flux, which I was relieved about, because on that one, it felt like she still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, or what direction she wanted to take. I definitely think we’ll get more rock/metal poppy in the future, or maybe we’ll get an entirely different genre. How about goth poppy, Hyper pop poppy, emo poppy, or maybe even hecking folk poppy. You never know with her. Can’t wait to see what else she has up her sleeve. It feels like she’s really found herself again with this one.

he called 2023 mid, then got a streak of yellow flannels. now he calls 2023 good and starts lining up red flannels. what is happening Anthony.

How is nobody mentioning Flicker? That song is a masterpiece. It's so multi layered and intriguing. I hear new subtleties with each listen. It's catchy, moody, beautiful and strange. Flicker is the best song on there.

Flux was ABSOLUTELY NOT a step down!! 😠

If Poppy didn’t hire Swedish Songwriters you would’ve given it 10/10.

If it was called “To Zig A Zag” you woulda gave it a 10

Motorbike and Knockoff slap but we need more metal Poppy. I Disagree was one of the gnarliest albums of 2020. Edit: ok I’ve listened to the album a few more times and now I think it’s pretty sick. The production is crazy.

Seeing a red flannel for a 4/10 is strange, and it hurts even more when it's Poppy :(

Hes really taking his time with the Jane Remover review

The album cover is what got me. Poppy is most likely just going thru a phase, which doesn’t make up for the music, however she recently responded to her metal fans, saying “don’t worry I’ll be back, (and looked sad and happy) expression for my love for dance and choreography is important to me” (Zach sang interview) That does come thru, her self directed music videos are very well done. This album ain’t it, but it doesn’t even feel like an earnest attempt , the “record label doesn’t care for music, and it scares me” attitude she voiced feels urgent and contradictory, while I respect the shit out of her, the tension feels different now when addressing “they control me” and why this is important stands out. Is Zig Zag her trying to maneuver outside popular demand and its consuming her, tied back artistically? The guy who worked with Deafheaven should come back, that was a power move. Bring in other open minded black metal producers, Steve albini even. Totally agree on the album tho. Love all her most recent output, maybe I’m in the minority. She’s definitely one of the coolest “pop” artists out there, and deserves better talent working alongside her, as they already do for live and studio recordings. After watching her what’s in my bag video, I’m not worried at all as a metal fan and Spit was a pretty amazing cover.

Glad that Poppy finally equals Taylor Swift on score. Good for her.

better than the taylor swift album. good job Poppy!

Poppy is a great artist, but Zig should be called Mid tbh... I Disagree, Flux and EAT ep were bangers!

I can understand the criticism for this album, but imagine thinking that Flux was a stepdown in songwriting and production. It certainly wasn't as heavy and creative as some of her previous stuff, but the songwriting was great, it has some of her deepest cuts, and the production was consistent throughout.

She zigged when she should’ve zagged

Zigthony Zagtano

Whoa I went and listened to the title track Zig after you described the chorus build-up as "hideously dissonant harmonies"... But when I listened, the only dissonant part was the melody over the chord bed in the verse part at the beginning. The chorus uses an unusual scale, for sure, but it's not dissonant. The lyrics are very simplistic, but I think that's my favorite Poppy song, musically, right now. And the music fits the lyrics... it's unexpected. You call this track, Zig, unlistenable? Wow, I want to hear it again. I believe you - people have different takes.

At least it's not as bad as Grimes nowadays

I see I am in the minority for liking the album

For me its not that its the transition to pop, but more that there's a lack of a new sound to it. I'd recently gotten into poppy and seeing her go from contemporary pop to darkwave and metal, I was at least hoping for more on an industrial album, or an album that violently zigged-and-zagged between something more palatable and something incredibly dark and aggressive if you will

I can't bear to watch such a low Poppy score review :(

She needs to revisit her sound on Lowlife from her That Poppy days and just give us a full ska album at this point. We need it. We deserve it.

linger should've been mentioned that's the best song btw

She really needs to get a new producer. The person she's working with currently has quite the track record but whatever he's doing with poppy just isn't working. While his style somewhat worked with flux now that Poppy is doing more… pop it's increasingly clear that it's a skill issue. It feels like all of his production sounds like it's been compressed and extremely muddled making it hard to really hear any of the nice little details of the production or enjoy the actual good ideas in it in the end.

I've been listening it a couple times now, and I get what you are saying, the track Hard has really grown on me, the major songs were already previewed so the other tracks don't really hold up the weight of the other ones previewed. I feel zig album was a leg to stand on to get out of the production funk and more tour focused track poppy has been doing. I feel Poppy as an artist has found stability and has added a couple new songs they can pick from to add to their tour set list. As a touring artist they said their main focus was more dance driven music. Compared to her other albums a 4 is fair, I'm interested to hear more after this release for sure.

Church Outfit, Knockoff, & Motorbike all slap. I enjoyed the album, but it could have been poppier like Poppy's early albums before her metal shift.

You already know it’s going to be a classic review when he’s wearing the Red Flannel

WHERE IS THE CENSUS DESIGNATED REVIEW MELON MAN

Is it kinda mean that i was expecting the red flannel after i listened to the album myself?

I do like this album, just not as much as the previous ones. The little verse in Zig is explaining the point of the title in the chorus. And it made it more enjoyable once I understood. Idk, I was hoping for either more metal or pop switches but it was a more tame album. Still good though! 👍

Im always excited for a poppy release i was pretty disappointed on this one:/

Anthony can you review jaden ctv3 day trippers edition it's not the same album a lotta new replacement songs thanks

I am surprised you didn't like What It Becomes, The Attic & Prove It those are the strongest tracks IMO. Tbh, I liked zig more than flux, really interested in her experimental route with zig. I would like her to try this type of genre again though.

Sadly, I felt equally left down. I think you did a great job at pointing out the best moments, especially the glitchier 1's and 0's which is my fav on the album. Ultimately, I was just disappointed by this after enjoying her other albums so much :(

As someone who waited for this album and literally watched the countdown from it on Spotify. It's such a disappointing album that I'm even saying how disappointed I am.

I think this might be my saddest album this year. I was hoping for more stuff like church outfit, admittedly also say cheese too 😅

I thought the ep Stagger she put out before this had some really great rock/metal oriented stuff that felt in keeping with her last couple albums, but also was doing something slightly different in the heavy space. I also really liked the dark electro/industrial vibes on this one but wish she went harder in that territory. Like a heavy dark electronic focused album would be amazing but a lot of the stuff here felt half baked and never really as weird or interesting as she's been in the past. Still a fan but a little let down here.

jane remover review when !????

she will release Zag later, so he can give it a Zig/10

the title track of flux was so good. i wonder if the title track of her next album is any better

Flux and Zig are her best albums.

No way his least favorite track is Hard, that’s one of my favorites

I actually really enjoyed how unpolished this album felt. As much as I've enjoyed Poppy's prior music, it tended to have a bit of a hyper-punchy, overproduced edge that suggested a team of "creatives" propping up the woman herself as a kind of figurehead. Poppy's own cultivated image didn't help much either -- I never really got into the concept of performing as a persona in all public appearances (including interviews etc.), and I didn't like how it tended to produce a rabid fanbase convinced Poppy's shit didn't stink. So it's nice to have an album here that sounds like the first demo of an up-and-coming experimental artist.

I don't care what you say anthony. that album is good

I’ll say it. We need an album with all pop songs like lowlife dude that would be sick

So like why haven’t you reviewed Jane Remover’s album yet?

Motorbike was the only song that got me for real excited, i loved it. It's a shame i didn't vibe with the rest of the album but she releases so many songs that i guess we're doomed to not enjoy everything once in a while, maybe her next project will be better received

Oh wow I liked this album a lot. Anthony seemed positive about most of the songs released leading up to it

As someone who has followed Poppy’s career, I do agree this is her most underwhelming album yet but I think it’s supposed to be. Whoever worked on this project really made it a point to over-simplify her in order to bring out more of her femininity and sexuality. This album feels a lot more comercial and brings me back a bit to the ‘Am I a Girl’ era at least lyrically speaking, both albums give the vibe of being intentionally campy, enigmatic and ironic. The Zig album felt a lot more campy all the way through which it’s a style some people enjoy, like the girls, femmes and gays. So overall it may be a strategy to keep different audiences engaged with a bigger range of music styles while also just giving her voice a rest from the previous albums and eps.

can you review census designated jane remover

Title track slaps

Really like your reviews even if I dont always agree, would love to see what you have to say about a folk band called the amazing devil, love their stuff!

Please Anthony, give the latest CASISDEAD album a listen to, I think it’s something you might enjoy and stylistically it goes against the grain of the majority of UK rappers’ work

1:37 "I'm not really married to her" - Fuckboy Fantano

Anthony I need to know if I'm allowed to like Jane Remover

So when are we going to hear your opinions on the new Knower record?

a red flannel for the new poppy album????? this is my mbdtf

I bet if this album was called to zig a butterfly you'd give it a 10

I just came back from a Bellwitch show, you better not piss me off Melon

Looking through the comments here to me just proves that Poppy is one of the most diverse and divisive artists that are out there right now. It seems like every single one of her projects is one that people love or hate, nothing in between. IMO, this is her 3rd best album, right behind I disagree and Flux, but to each their own

As someone who liked Flux... Zig is a plunge down. It's not the fact it's Poppy, it's the fact the production is thinner than tin. Like even her earliest pop albums sounded fuller.

I'll wait for zag to drop

I think you mean you're feeling a strong zig to a light zag on this record

As someone who really really really likes this album, i 100% agree w this entire review except Hard and Church Outfit are fucking AMAZING

i genuinely think that was the point of the album, maybe zag will be more thought out lyrically, finished product

Fantano, where's the new MIKE album review?

Have you thought about reviewing SIPHO.’s debut album?

Zig has honestly grown on me, its pretty good

Are you gonna review the new Domo Genesis album?

Melon saying that poppy was “trying to sound weird and edgy” is so ironic.

I miss the Poppy clip at the end of every Thatistheplan video. That'll always be nostalgic to me

lol no jane remover review??

I think this album is great - it’s like the perfect blend of all her previous styles while still feeling cohesive somehow.

Poppy is one of my favorite artists and on first few listens I just don't care about Zig. Her last two albums were in my top 5 favorites of their respective years and this one probably won't make my top 50 list. Zig's not bad and there are a few cuts I definitely enjoyed but stylistically and production wise it's just not working for me like her other stuff.

Zig showed some of her deepest lyrics and killer sounds. Linger, Flicker, The Attic, 1s + 0s are in my top 10 songs from 2023. Did this guy not pay attention or just not the demographic?

If the album was called To Zig a Butterfly you would’ve gave it a 10.

I think the main differences with the past few albums are mainly attributable to who she's working with. She might have had some falling out with some people (I don't really get how anyone's career survives the I Disagree music video as much as hers has 🤣🤣🤣). But after this album, she's collabed with Bad Omens (Sumerian) and Knocked Loose (Pure Noise), which shows that getting away from the heavier stuff probably wasn't her actual main desire, but rather something that just happened as a result of working with different people. Bad Omens is on Sumerian, who did I Disagree, so I guess they're cool with her. Hopefully she can work with some of them again. For some weird reason, I really wanna see Poppy front an all-female super group like the kinds they have in Japan (BAND-MAID, DOLL$BOXX/Gacharic-Spin, etc.). I can't think of a better frontwoman who isn't already in a band-band (like Jinjer, Spiritbox, etc.) than her. That one female metal/etc. drummer RU-vidr Kristina Rybalchenko is just chilling in Serbia now trying to get a US visa; I'd love to see her in an actual band, especially in the US if it's where she wants to come anyway. Which instrumentalists and vocalists would you pick for an all-girl supergroup? Sounds like a great idea for a video if I ever hoyd one. Some of the ones I like who aren't in major bands (maybe they just have some kind of solo project) are: - the RU-vidr British guitarist Sophie Burrell (shredder; more classic oldie type stuff, but the djentiest thing I've seen her play is Doomsday by Architects; has a mellow solo group called Bxrrell) - another RU-vidr British guitarist Sophie Lloyd (also a shredder, plays similar stuff) - the RU-vidr German drummer Raja Meissner (doesn't seem to be in any major band) - can't find or think of any bassists besides Davie504 in drag I guess all the ones who aren't in major bands already I can think of are all RU-vidrs. 🤣 Best female drummer I know of is Anastasia Sereda (she can play Blxxd by Meshuggah in heels and/or with one hand while drinking tea and eating chocolate), but she's already in a Russian band called Invertor.

false red flannel

honestly I actually do enjoy this one

i feel like Poppys gotten herself in a corner, it’s clear she’s over the sound of I Disagree (at least for now) and wants to go in a different direction but she’s established herself with that sound and that’s now what both fans and the label expect. it definitely doesn’t help that though she does have a core fanbase i just don’t know if we are the type of fanbase who would keep up if she drastically changed her sound every album, a lot of fans love everything she puts out, and a lot of fans don’t mind it but also wish she would go back to metal or pop and mostly stick around waiting for that to happen. her collab with bad omens has me hopeful though, a dark industrial but still almost pop/dance influenced sound could be something she like really thrive in

she really shocked me with this album like the singles weren't my cup of tea but then the album came out n all the non singles were RLY GOOD

"2023 is mid" then for a while he wears yellow flannels "2023 is not mid anymore" then he now wears red flannels.

WHERE IS THE JANE REMOVER REVIEW

To not break this down into aesthetics moods and vibes and instead focus on dismissing the choices on production the way you do tells me all I need to know. Which is just fine. Do what ya do. You have a nice gig goin. Have a pleasant day.

Who produced I Disagree ? Why are those songs so extremely good, but the later stuff is lacking? Was it produced by completéy different people?

Yeah I agree this whole album was really rough to listen to I was really disappointed by it it’s just kinda a mess. A couple good songs but alot if bad ones. My first reaction was man that kinda sucked.

Poppy is wife material

Her quality has gone downhill since the split from Titanic Sinclair.

I didn’t enjoy this album as a whole unfortunately, but I did enjoy tracks from it - church outfit, knockoff & motorbike.

Damn red flannel for poppy

This dude: "Art is OBJECTIVE."

I'm a big Poppy fan but it did not like Zig very much. Which is diappointing because I loved her cover of Spit and also really liked the Stagger EP (and of course a lot of the older stuff).

if it was named zag it would’ve been a 10

I love Poppy, I've enjoyed all the albums in their own way and have them all on vinyl, but I was disapointed by this one, it's just _lacking_ ... I think you picked up on most of the points I thought.

Still waiting on that Jane Remover review Anthony

have you listened to Feed The Beast by Kim Petras? It’s Kim Petras’ major label debut album !