Popup - A Time And A Place (Album)

Art Goes Pop / 91 Records

Where does Art/Goes/Pop find all these wonderous bands? It both baffles and amazes me the constant stream of goodies being hurled into the world by this small but ingenious label long may it continue.

Popup are the latest off the Art/Goes/Pop conveyor belt and no doubt achingly for some people they are another Scottish band (Glasgow) who just let their natural voices be heard in all their phlemgy glory which, for anyone who's read anything I've written will know that I'm all for freedom-of-accent-speech. I love it. The other glorious thing I feel should be mentioned about this album is that it was funded by the Scottish Arts Council, let's be honest don't we all want the taxman to put some of our hard-earned cash into making albums I'd rather that than more feckin' speed bumps everywhere.

So to the music, well we get an album that is quintessentially Scottish and no that doesn't mean it's covered in bagpipes and has a cameo by the Proclaimers! It does; however, mean that the album ploughs the same fields as Franz Ferdinand, Sons & Daughters, Frightened Rabbit and those of that ilk, so you know what you are getting when you bung it on.

'Love Triangle' opens the album with it's slow thumping rhythm that cascades along at gentle pace before building to it's rousing climax that unites both lead vocalist Damian Gillhooly and female lead Adrienne Giudici in a chorus of 'try as i might, you might find out'. It's a great little tale of siamese twins and the jealousy that exists between them (who'd have thought) and includes a great lyric in 'but worst of all, you're my only shoulder to cry on'.

'Poison Apple' does that jangly guitar thing The View/The Fratellis do so well this is more understated than the bloated kind they purvey but nonetheless it's an enjoyable ride. 'Stagecoach' follows with it's nursery rhyme musical loop and quite slumbering pace with lyrics about a girl's forgetfullness, the harmonies between vocalists rise and fall nicely.

Following is 'A Year In A Comprehensive' telling the tale of a posh girl slumming it at a working class school with it's rhyming lyrics 'she likes Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire... Jane MacDonald and Lionel Blair' it's over before it gets started really. 'The Saviour Of Judas McDade' slowly bounces along again featuring both vocalists duelling for most of the track, it's very reminiscent of The Hazey Janes. 'Dreams Like These' continues that comparison but spot the whistling tune at the end (viva la France).

'Chinese Burn' really kicks things off with a driving beat and frantic guitars it's almost like a throwaway Clash number, loving the chorus 'you pick me up, down, round and round, side to side', nice simple riffs towards the end evoke that 70's new york sound. 'What's The Matter Now?' features a kind of spoken word by Gillhooly that goes so quick it's often hard to make out what he's saying, kind of like an Arctic Monkeys demo with Scottish vocals (make sense?). And for best title the award goes to 'The First Weekend Of The Smoking Ban' being a non-smoker oh it was a joyous occasion, as for the song it's like a 50's slow dance with slightly more modern lyrics involving texting. To be honest the song should probably be smoked to.

'Pure' continues in the vein of the previous track with it's very laidback musical styling and vocals, centering on everything being pure, now in Scotland this term has many a meaning usually being taken to the extreme. 'In Her Day' brings us back to the present day with an injection of electrical equipment, again the vocals are quite pacy as a girl named Louise is given a song all to herself, lucky her. 'Pull The Fuse' bounds along suitably and features again some great lyrics 'you could have been a sailor/if you'd only learned to drown... you could have been a lantern/if you'd just lighten up' before the raucous chorus of the songs title.

Finishing up is 'Lucy, What You Trying To Say?' a great little indie/pop song that again features some great lyrical content 'we shared a cigarette/turned out he had tourettes' and some great vocal harmonies in the chorus, it's a great little song to finish the album on and is the song that best sums up the album.

Popup write some incredibly witty songs and can wrap themselves around a tune quite comfortably, this album might have taken it's time in arriving but it's all the better for it.

popup