American Performer Poppy is perhaps one of the most enigmatic in music today. A compliment when it seems many others are a carbon copy of the next, Poppy has made a name for herself in the pop and also the Heavy Metal genre. A part of what makes her so compelling, she has zigged and zigged around both realms over the last decade. Releasing her Synthpop leaning debut album Poppy.Computer in 2017, a year later in 2018 she turned heads with Am I a Girl? A sophomore effort that was by and large Dance Pop, until the closing “X,” where listeners were treated to a pummeling of Metal.
Something that made some curious, was it just a goof, or was Poppy very serious about exploring new genres? Well, it ended up not being a fluke, because in 2020 she put out the blistering Metalcore-inspired I Disagree. From here Poppy continued to throw listeners for a loop with the Punk Rock-influenced follow-up Flux in 2021, before the very Dark Electronic album Zig in 2023. So, before even turning thirty years old, Poppy has already explored several genres and taken her sound in different directions more so than artists twice her age. A factor that may lead to a disjointed following considering her ability to change at will, in truth, it is quite inspiring to see. Yes, it is nice to see an artist stick within one genre to create continuity, but if you look at some of the most legendary artists – like David Bowie, Madonna, and even Radiohead – each consistently changed their sound.
With this all in mind, the best way to approach Poppy is to expect the unexpected, and now in 2024, she returns with another Pop album? No. Dance album? Nope. A Bluegrass album? Not quite. Building up to the big reveal, it is another Metal collection. Released on November 15th through Sumerian Records, it is Poppy’s sixth overall studio record, and she is calling it Negative Spaces.
Produced by Bring Me The Horizon’s Jordan Fish, Poppy revealed the lead single back in June called “new way out” and it made a pretty big impact. A mix of Industrial, Metal, and Pop elements, the single could be looked at as a prototype for the remainder of Negative Spaces, but this is Poppy we are talking about here. What this means is even a subsequential single like “they’re all around us,” which is brutally heavy, does not define this album. In fact, you could argue that Poppy has successfully made her most diverse record to date.
A total of fifteen tracks, several of which are spoken word interludes, Negative Spaces is in one word fascinating. Truly bouncing all over the map, yes, the album is largely on the Metal side of the spectrum, but there is so much more going on here. Leaving you with something to discover around each turn, songs that stand most prominent here include the heavy “the cost of giving up,” “vital,” and “nothing,” the Punk Rock driven title-track, but also the impossible to ignore Synthpop “crystallized.”
In truth, Negative Space is a refreshing experimental album that should please those sick of the same old same old when it comes to Rock and Metal. Poppy dares to be herself and wins! Full of unique, powerful songs, her work with Fish and former Fever 333 Guitarist Stephen Rey Harrison pays off in dividends. Poppy channels so many different styles in Negative Spaces, that it is impossible to categorize this record. Simply magnetic, Cryptic Rock gives Negative Spaces 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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