PUP: Who Will Look After the Dogs?
Briefly

PUP's latest album, 'Who Will Look After the Dogs?', marks a departure from self-critical themes to exploring feelings of inadequacy while peers achieve personal milestones like marriage and parenthood. Babcock's struggles with the collapse of a long-term relationship are reflected in tracks like 'Paranoid' and 'Olive Garden' but also in more optimistic tunes like 'Hallways' which highlight his journey towards self-improvement. The album's standout features are its slower tracks, showcasing a new side of PUP that underscores emotional depth and resilience amidst challenges.
When one door closes, it might never open/There might be no other doors, Babcock frets in "Hallways," one of the album's most deceptively optimistic tracks.
The impulse to indulge somewhat childish reactions weakens two album cuts: "Paranoid" soundtracks a bitter breakup dispute with the riled-up noise-punk format...
On upbeat earworms like "Concrete" and "Cruel," Babcock learns how to be the bigger person and how to part ways with whatever drains you.
In a first for PUP, the best tracks on their album are slow songs and mid-tempo romps, which bolster Who Will Look After the Dogs?
Read at Pitchfork
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