Toronto trio BBQ Pope’s second album is not only a wonderfully realised rock n roll patchwork of styles and influences, but is also a lyrical tour de force. Sometimes lyrical prowess can be overlooked in the genres that Unfurl takes inspiration from. Punk bands, psych-rock bands, grunge bands, and even britpop bands are sometimes more recognised for their attitudes, vibes, legacy and antics, respectively, than the actual content of their art. So we feel it’s absolutely crucial to highlight what a feat the songwriting is here.
On the first song – and recent single – Content, alone, there are pearls like “In this life we never asked for in this world we’ve thrown away” and “prove our worth in an unjust system / in our heads we become the victims”. The opening track touches on our collective environmental irresponsibility, the euthanasia debate, the myth of happily ever after, existential dread, repressed ambition in favour of social convention and perceived success, the concept of a subjugated, suppressed proletariat and trying to find optimism in the form of love. Phew! Overall, Content is a consciously uplifting but simultaneously cynical song about what constitutes prosperity and happiness in the modern world. And we’re only on track one.
Content is followed by Quicksand – a look at the struggle of just surviving day-to-day – which in the first few bars reminds us musically of Queens Of The Stone Age’s cult classic Feel Good Hit Of The Summer. As the song progresses, it takes on more of a Green Day-feeling pop punk vibe. The use of the acoustic guitar in the mix, however, while an effects-laden lead part slices through the melody, makes it feel like something much more. The song soars before settling down again, and eventually, we’re met with lines like “the loneliness of man lurks in every silent span / always broken by a phone call / one more life slipped through our hands”, and again, the strength of the lyrical content is unignorable. Towards the end of the track the lead guitar parts recall the work of The Strokes – specifically the style of Nick Valensi – this hyper-melodic, super-focussed style of playing against the increasingly epic musical backdrop works beautifully (shout out to the engineering and mixing of Dylan Frankland) and as the song concludes it feels oxymoronic in its hopefulness because it is also so obviously tinged with palpable sadness.
Pop Punk Song From 1994 starts with a Gigantic bassline that Kim Deal would be proud of. It creeps along this way for a little while and only ventures anywhere near pop punk territory (don’t be fooled by the name) in the chorus. A lament about the innate difficulties of unbalanced intimate relationships, somewhat like the previous song, it’s underpinned by a tragic undercurrent that bubbles throughout. You can’t help but empathise with the protagonist who comes across as desperate and despondent.
Pool Hall is up next, which is the slowest song so far, and feels rather emo. Dedicated to a memory of someone who came and went but whose impact still lives on. Reading the lyrics on Bandcamp, we got choked up by the heart-baring sentiment of it all. The lyrics that precede the coda of “I’ll never lose sight’ are so earnest and poignant that we feel like we begin to miss the person that the song is about ourselves. We won’t transcribe them here. Just listen and read. It’s also accompanied by a rather beautiful recently released music video.
The almost Goth rock-like vibe of Stuck Inside My Ways is next and feels a bit like The Cure as it begins. The instruments are perfectly balanced, and the space between them feels as important as the space that they occupy. Shout out to the producer again! After an epic groove-based intro that lasts almost half the song, the vocal kicks in and the track takes on more of a new wave feel as Reid and/or Sean spit lines about life and its trials and tribulations, rooted in anxiety, dread and doubt.
Face The Future was the third single from Unfurl, and it’s not hard to see why. A high-octane rocker full of vim and vigour that’s as catchy as the day is long. It’s seemingly about the reality of being an artist who also has to hold down a “real” job – one eye on the future they want to have and the other on the one that they must. Relatable. Musically, it’s in keeping with the majority of the album; it touches on grunge, post-punk, indie and pop punk. It’s chock-full of character, attitude and spirit, which are qualities that are reflected in the guitar solo towards the end, after a false finish, as the song builds up again. It’s not about virtuosity, but personality. It feels like it’s made up of part Pixies, part Gang Of Four and part Dinosaur Jr, and it’s as enjoyable as it is mighty.
Old Friends slows the pace right down and feels a bit like stoner rock. Something like Kyuss or a softer version of Sleep, it trudges and lumbers along, feeling ominous and almost threatening in its depth and darkness. Like you could drown in it. About a third of the way through, the chorus kicks in, and there’s an injection of energy and spunk. It quickly slips back into the pace established in the verses, and as the song goes on, it feels a bit like the opening track – Content – slowed down. It’s tonally in keeping with the rest of the record, even if the bpm has nosedived.
Cry 2 is a bit of a reprise of a song from their first album. Released 8 years ago, Cry was a relatively lo-fi post-punk stomper. Cry 2, by contrast, feels like a more accomplished, more mature, more well-rounded, older cousin to its predecessor. Just as charming but in a different way, the gulf between the first track and the new one is an excellent embodiment of how far they have come stylistically as a band.
The album is concluded with Where The Street Meets The Skyline. The song fluctuates between post-punk bass rhythms, interspersed with sporadic guitar flourishes in the verses and a chorus that has a ragged, jagged edge to it. It feels like a mixture of hardcore punk, pub rock and Black Sabbath. With a riff straight out of the Tony Iommi playbook, a spirited dual vocal performance and drums that are as dependable as they have been throughout the course of the album, Unfurl certainly goes out with a bang.
The record is an unmitigated triumph. It ticks so many boxes it’s hard to know how to summarise it. Suffice it to say that it’s one of the most thrilling things we’ve heard this year. If you’re lucky enough to be in Canada, keep an eye out for them on tour – they may well be coming to a principality near you, with more to come in due course!
If you enjoyed this album and/or it’s review, we would suggest reading our recent interview with the band’s bassist and co-singer, Reid Millar, where we cover subjects such as the record itself, the swine that is the streaming machine (as well as potential alternatives), modern music consumption habits, the merits of theatre vs music and much more!
Written by Kinda Grizzly
