The opening track of If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra would suggest Pop Unknown are a fairly heavy rock band. They are not, however. Instead, the majority of this disc is a mix of emo, guitar pop, and light rock. The guitars (there are three, not including the bass) are featured prominently, while the drums are kept fairly quiet. Tim Lasater's lead vocals are good for the emo aspect of their music, but don't work as well for the harder songs. Production isn't the best, and on some tracks it would have been better if the guitars had been put a little lower in the mix, and the vocals brought forward.
Lyrically, Pop Unknown say just enough to keep you thinking. A good example is "An Offering."
Trip to find an offering.
You're all I know.
Some familiar faces.
(Note: Lyrics are not included but I found them on the Deep Elm website).
Other songs have more lyrics, but remain equally vague. "Lonely Here With Me" is a desperate plea from the writer to God for help in his time of struggle. Other themes include selfishness ("Tattoo Your Image (On the World)") and God's care for us ("Oh Kay").
The biggest problem with If Arsenic Fails is that they don't have enough variety. Every song, save two or three, starts with gentle lead guitar picking, which is joined by the rhythm guitar in the chorus. While it works for some songs, the majority become boring and tedious. If Arsenic Fails is not without highlights. For example, "Last to Know" breaks the monotony with a reasonably fast punk pop song. "Forward = Rewind" is an instrumental with slide guitar and light percussion against a background of surf and beach sounds.
If Arsenic Fails is a tense album for the spiritually needy. It should please fans of emo and guitar-driven pop. For others, Pop Unknown provide little more than relaxing background music.
2.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #82Reviewed by David M. PoggeToo melodic to be called emo, but too creative to be called pop, Austin's Pop Unknown float somewhere in the waters of neutrality between the two with their latest release, If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra. It's pop in the fact that it is accessible and extremely catchy, but it's emo in the fact that it has those beautiful chiming guitars and emotive vocals. While not sounding at all overproduced,…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by ConradThis is hooky alternative rock. This album surprised me. I was expecting really moody, boring music. But this album is upbeat enough to at least make me not want to turn it off. What you have here are solid alternative pop songs with full vocals, tons of harmonies (thank you) and creative guitar work. This is one of them bands that switch off from clean channel guitar to distortion to create…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Tom BastianThis is a really great CD. So far I have been really impressed with this band. They definitely seem to be on the right track. Some of the songs off their EP I think I liked a little bit better, but these are all still solid songs. With this album I was always kind of waiting for them to kick it in and just rock out, but they really never did. I think it may have been the production that kind of…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by TimThis band sounds a lot like my favorite band Coward. The only problem is that they aren't quite as good. But at the same time, Coward broke up, so I guess that makes them the next best thing. The songs are good, but not great. It was fairly catchy, but not quite as catchy to be considered great. BDecapolis 2000Reviewed by Matt AI really liked Pop Unknown's first EP, but when I brought this CD home I was a little disappointed at first. Instead of the catchy emo/rock that was prominent in their previous recordings, this album is basically straight up pop, which took me by surprise a little. I knew there had to be something here, so I kept listening. After 3 or 4 listens I found what I was looking for. This record doesn't…Similar sounding releases
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