But that’s not say it’s unlistenable, far from it. In fact, it’s addictive to see where the record goes next. While most hardcore bands are adamant about getting heavier, The Armed are going poppier and, ultimately, weirder, often in the space of one verse. Rather than a picturesque Monet landscape to sit and quietly contemplate, Ultrapop is a Magic-eye painting – if you squint hard enough there’s something you recognise amongst the madness.
It’s the more indie-leaning songs that stand out as the most accessible, like the art-school An Iteration and the meditative Average Death, meanwhile the lackadaisical nature of Bad Selection makes you unsure you’re even listening to the same band… until its eventual sonic bludgeoning like Agoraphobic Nosebleed covering The Weeknd.
At the other end of the spectrum, Big Shell is the sound of crushing despair, Faith In Medication buzzes with chaos and the ominous slow burn of closer The Music Becomes A Skull confirms that you are, in fact, nothing more than a toy to The Armed – just a subject to be experimented on to see how much discordance you can take before running away to the safety of a 4/4 beat and anything resembling a chorus. Ultimately, Ultrapop is less a record than it is an artistic statement, a defiant ‘fuck you’ to any and all perceptions of what a heavy band should and could be. Sure, it’s not something you’re going to dip in and out of on a whim, but when you’re in, you won’t want to leave.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Code Orange, Converge
Ultrapop is out now via Sargent House.
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