You Should Be Listening To Mass Gothic

“Oh man, I hate pop music, pop music sucks.”

This is a statement that I cannot stomach. No matter how many times I have heard people say that throughout my [redacted] years on this planet I am still to this day unable to endure those words. Hell, I have an easier time with my creditors calling me every third day than I do when someone says that there sentence. By the way, shout-out to Carla from Master Card: you are a saint, lady! That minimum payment’s happening this week I swear!

I always like to have a couple of pop records at the ready to throw at anyone who makes such sweeping statements, and I am thrilled to add Mass Gothic to my arsenal of heavy anti-hater artillery.

Mass Gothic is the new project from Hooray For Earth frontman Noel Heroux who, after a spat of feeling creatively dry, concocted a record whose end result straddles shimmering electricity and abrasive tension with such dexterity it makes you wish we’d all get a little creatively maxed out sometimes. And let me tell you, I know a little something about maxing stuff out, am I right, Carla? Ha ha.

What’s astounding is how these songs are built: lustrous synthpop foundations from which rise massive, massive towers of gritty, distorted guitars and explosive electric sound barrages. The results are equal parts ethereal and unhinged, with Heroux’s vocals going from euphonic to straight-up frenzied. You may recognize the pop tune structures, but this record is designed to keep you on your toes and will catch you snoozing if you’re not careful, like when I picked up the phone without checking caller ID first and had to explain to Carla why her calls hadn’t been returned yet.

How To Tell If This Album Is For You

Allow the strikingly catchy and deceptively gloomy “Every Night You Have To Save Me” be your majordomo. We’ll be hard pressed to hear a more spot-on pop number this year (it’s already in my best of 2016 list): It’s a punching, magical, synthetic earworm, so be ready to head bob (at the very least). If you’re down with that song, allow your auditory senses to be treated to “Nice Night” which brings together all that synthpoppy-slash-guitar distortion goodness I mentioned above in a dramatic slow burn which begs to be performed for a festival crowd. If these two songs do it for you, then you’re a prime candidate for the rest of this inspired and exhilarating album.

The Obligatory Rating™

I give this album three final notices out of four because the fourth one is coming via registered mail and there’s no way I’m signing for that. You hear me, Carla?