“It’s been five years tonight” and Poppy’s Flux remains one of the best showcases of human perseverance

A Review of Flux by Poppy

By Kayla Harper

 

Poppy’s genre-fluid catalog has taken on many looks throughout her career from alternative pop to heavy metal. Somewhere in the middle is her 2021 release, Flux, a solid rock album with elements of both her pop and metal side blending together into one of her most cohesive and sonically illusive records to date.

 

Produced by Justin Meldal-Johnson who has become known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, M83, Paramore and Garbage, this multi-genre tone makes Flux one of those must-listen front-to-back records for all music lovers. The way Poppy and her band seamlessly blend the heavier moments with the atmospheric pop soundscapes is almost reminiscent of Turnstile’s GLOW ON and NEVER ENOUGH projects, with her own twist.

 

As a whole Flux is an introspective exploration of the inevitable ups and downs and finding oneself within the chaos and in the face of abuse. However, each song adds much more to the thematic narrative, continue reading to learn more about each track:

1. “Flux” 

The opening track of an album is one of the most important as it introduces listeners to the sonic world the artist created and keeps them intrigued enough to continue listening. Poppy nails both of these on the opening title track, “Flux”, which slowly builds instrumentally and lyrically becomes the album’s “thesis statement”, “You can’t oppose it / That’s just how it goes, yeah / You gotta flux and flow with it.”

2. “Lessen The Damage” 

A lot of Flux centers around emotional reactions to the natural flows and ebbs of life and finding ourselves within it all. “Lessen The Damage” is a perfect modern rock song, held down by driven guitars, chaotic, but steady drums and seamlessly balances heavier moments and potent screams with a radio-friendly melodic pop approach. Lyrically, Poppy emphasizes boundaries on “Lessen The Damage, there’s a certain line that once crossed cannot be come back from, “I give as good as I get /

You’ve got no advantage to lessen the damage.”

3. “So Mean” 

“So Mean” represents the transition of a person into a worse version of themselves as a result of their environment and the people they surround themselves with, “You taught me how to hate myself, yuck

/ Now she hates everything / How did she get here? / How did she get so mean?” Again, aside from Poppy, the guitars and drums especially stand out on this track with intricate, catchy riffs.

4. “On The Level” 

Contrary to the previous track, “On The Level”, centers around finding someone who brings out our best and most authentic self, “So introspective / Right into life, we’re taking a bite / It’s all progressive / Take me along for every ride…Found someone on the level…” One of the best parts of the track is the bridge where the bright delicate guitar riff reflecting the purity of the singer’s feelings blend with their intensity through the back-and-forth from the softer instrumental to the heavier double kicks.

5. “Hysteria” 

The term, “Hysteria”, was originally coined as a now outdated psychological illness in women who were outwardly emotional.  On the track, Poppy plays off this term expressing the narrator’s difficulties in learning to regulate and manage their own emotions, “I can’t say I’m in control of my moods / You light me up like a short fuse.” This track feels more laid back in relevance to the rest of Flux, but still balances on electric riffs, distorted and distant screams building the messy, otherworldly emotional atmosphere around it.

6. “Her” 

Poppy has previously described “Her” to be “one of the most significant songs to [her] as a Poppy.” (Poppy via Instagram 2019). “Her” revolves around the concept of rebuilding oneself after losing oneself to the hands of someone else, “I’m getting to know her and all of her anger / Picked herself up, put her back together.” Instrumentally this track feels more consistent than others, as if to mimic finding balance in life again after upheaval.

7. “Bloom” 

Sonically “Bloom” starts to bring the album into a more atmospheric place, the rhythmic drums take a forefront in the production adding to the ominous building of one growing into themself out of hardship, “Why did I try to grow up faster? ‘Cause now I feel untimely pressure / Still every day trying to be better / Uncertainty I cannot even measure.” This track focuses on self-authority in new beginnings; letting go of what is out of our control and taking control of what is, “And you took what I gave to you / I took it back from you / Now like a flower, I’ll bloom.”

8. “As Strange As It Seems” 

“As Strange As It Seems” leans into the dreamy, atmospheric side of the record, with distorted guitars and soft vocals contrasting each other.  Lyrically, it emphasizes the way broken, naive hearts can easily be taken advantage of, “I was a passenger in a speeding car…I was a careful girl with a broken heart / You showed no regard for me,”  but most of all, it recognizes how we play a part by allowing ourselves to be treated these ways, “What did I get me into, into? Why did I let you into me?”

9. “Never Find My Place”

The instrumental settles into the soft atmospheric side on the closing track before building into a heavier, more assertive tone. On “Never Find My Place” the narrator reaches a resolution taking back control of one’s life into her own hands, “Pick up the gun and run / Take what’s mine and get my space” making a promise to themself and another to never let themselves be disrespected in that way again, “The evil on your face / Screams you’ll never change / You broke into my life / Uninvited.”

Besides the satisfyingly seamless blend of sonically heavier and soft dreamy instrumental on Flux, the most important and intriguing thing to take from the 32-minutes spent in this unique atmosphere is the perseverance and self-respect Poppy emphasizes in the lyrics. She views the harsher parts of life dissected on the record as a part of the regular fluxes and lessons she must learn, rather than letting herself become a tarnished victim, she uses it to fuel her. A lesson we can all learn from Poppy’s Flux, is taking back authority over our own life and responsibility for her own actions that allowed us to lose it in the first place.