Review: I Disagree - Poppy
By Kenny Cox
From the beginning of Poppy’s career, something always felt off. The 25 year-old YouTube star turned musician got her start making videos that, while seemingly innocuous on the surface, carried an eerie, enigmatic darkness that made her a viral sensation. As Poppy pivoted to music, she kept up this balancing act, making bright, sunny electropop with something sinister lurking just beneath the glittering synths and dance beats. But with her newest record, I Disagree, Poppy shatters her persona, trading bubblegum pop for thrashing nu-metal, and creates a bewildering new identity for herself.
While Poppy’s sudden transition to metal might seem out of the blue, it’s something that the artist has hinted at ever since her 2018 record Am I A Girl?, with the record’s last two tracks steering away from impeccably produced synthpop to downtuned guitars and heavy distortion. Poppy’s new sound also follows the growing influence of nu-metal on pop artists, like Grimes’ “We Appreciate Power” in 2018, and Rina Sawayama’s latest single “STFU!” Even Korn got in the action, remixing Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money” with incredible results. But where these tracks appear to be one-off projects, Poppy’s I Disagree bridges these seemingly disparate genres across a full LP with fascinating results.
From the opening seconds of “Concrete,” Poppy sets the mold for what much of the album follows, burning through shattering metal riffs, Brian Wilson-esque harmonies, and tween-friendly pop at downright manic speed. “Bury me six feet deep, cover me in concrete, turn me into a street” sings Poppy, a guttural, deadly chant that turns into a sugary, gloss-slicked hook just seconds later. This genre whiplash makes its way into tracks like “Bite Your Teeth,” which warps from a blazing metal track to airy, mellow synthpop at the drop of a hat, and “Fill the Crown,” merging metal with a glitching electronic hook. While this frenetic approach to genre makes for an interesting listen, it makes some of I Disagree’s tracks feel like jagged fragments of several songs, never merging into a satisfying whole.
Where I Disagree works best is when Poppy seamlessly blends her pop and metal influences rather than smash them together. “BLOODMONEY,” one of the record’s standout tracks, is Poppy at her most aggressive, screaming the song’s hook over ear-shattering, demolishing synths that seem to vaporize anything in Poppy’s path. It’s a song that explodes from the start, and seems to only get more bombastic and propulsive as it goes along. “Sit / Stay” is another track where Poppy brilliantly fuses genres to create something utterly unique. The song’s hybrid of 00’s electronica, sci-fi sound effects, and menacing guitar riffs complement each other fantastically, injecting the album with a futuristic, galaxy-crossing banger. The track recount’s Poppy’s frustration with being limited as an artist, but as the track shows, her inventiveness can make for music that sounds unlike anything else.
Amidst the experimentation and chaos of I Disagree, Poppy does return to her electro-pop roots in the album’s slower sections. “Nothing I Need” marks a soothing break from the abrasiveness of the album’s first five tracks. With smooth harmonies and plush synths, Poppy looks inward, questioning fame, materialism, and where her true values lie. “Sick of the Sun” also comes in after some of I Disagree’s most chaotic tracks, pausing for a reverb-heavy ballad recounting Poppy’s bouts with depression and isolation. It’s in these moments where Poppy breaks through her own persona, leading to some of the record’s most interesting moments.
Some of I Disagree’s tracks are more effective than others in bridging together Poppy’s previous electro-pop with her new direction towards heavy metal. But even with some missteps, Poppy’s latest effort makes for a head-spinning, undeniably individual work, for better or worse.
Some of I Disagree’s tracks are more effective than others in bridging together Poppy’s previous electro-pop with her new direction towards heavy metal. But even with some missteps, Poppy’s latest effort makes for a head-spinning, undeniably individual work, for better or worse.
