The peeps in Pop. 1280 must like paradoxes, since their music isn’t poppy at all – dark, brooding, borderline evil rather. But maybe that dot means that "pop" stands for something else? Popsicle maybe? Popcorn? Oh, wait! It’s from a novel by Nick Corey, and "Pop." stands for "population."
Signed to Brooklyn’s Sacred Bones, these guys released a full length in January entitled "The Horror" (that’s more like it) which snatched a 7.5 from Pitchfork. I always say that I like tension and release in music, but… boy! Tense throughout, this stuff won’t let you off the hook, challenging most hears with truly edgy, clangy, and cacophonous sonic attacks, in perfect industrial/goth style – imagine an angrier version of Nick Cave’s Birthday Party. Pop. 1280 will be touring the US in September, but we can see in the band’s future an obvious destination, Germany and Northern Europe, true homes of angular and dark rock sounds. If this band was a painter it would be Edvard Munch. Check out their recent video of the song "Bodie in the Dunes" here.