Crossfade Reviews: The Armed "ULTRAPOP"

 by Karl W.

The Armed "ULTRAPOP"
[Sargent House]
Post Hardcore/Noise Rock/Punk

    Every now and again it's worth looking through new music releases for the year and seeing what is often agreed to be some of the best albums of the year. Music outlets have been raving around the fourth full length album from The Armed, a Detroit-based group that has been building buzz in their home city with this being their biggest success to date...and I can see where the acclaim is coming from, to an extent. This album tackles heavy ideas about commercialization and the creative process, where one's own ideas and aspirations can easily get swamped out by consumerism and greed. It is about not just how one consumes art, but also about how artists create their own art but are subsequently consumed by the machine, such as in "AVERAGE DEATH" where actors and actresses in the 1930s were often abused by their art, or "WHERE MAN KNOWS WANT" where the creative curve takes over and you can never truly get rest when demand for more looms over the surface. "REAL FOLK BLUES" is a true highlight that explores the exploits of an acid-house promotor who used pitch-shifting musical techniques to trick bank systems for his own gain, effectively using art to steal.

    What lets this project down, however, is the production. That's not to say the overall sound or aesthetic of this album is terrible, hardcore punk like this lives on sounding as loud and powerful as it can, one where you will need to dig deep to pick up on the different tones and sounds that go through each song. However, the mixing on this album on the whole is not very good at all, with the guitars and drums pushed to the front and compressed to their highest limit while the vocals and bass are pushed to the back with little room to breathe. The compression can get so bad that I'm almost kinda glad the album  is as short that it is because it can get exhausting at this point. It's a real shame too, since the lyrics are so interesting, it's just a shame you can barely hear them in given songs. With a better mix where the vocals are pushed further in the mix and cleaned up, I think this could've gone a lot better. As it is, it's a conceptually and lyrically interesting album suffocated by a horrid mix. This one is an acquired listen I would say. If you are not a fan of this type of sound, this won't change your mind, but it is interesting enough to give it a go.

Best Songs: "ALL FUTURES", "AN ITERATION", "AVERAGE DEATH", "REAL FOLK BLUES"
Worst Song: "BIG SHELL"
6/10 (Decent)