Poppy H - Treadwater Fury

 

Released: March 7

Poppy H takes a very peculiar approach to recording his compositions in that his only recording and mixing device is a smartphone. While many artists may eschew the sketchy quality of the internal microphone, Poppy H embraces it fully and the result of this approach is rather interesting. Now, despite using this modest medium, the end results are rather interesting because you might expect a very lo-fi sound, but it actually sounds rather full-bodied and delightful. But the neat part about this is that even after things are cleaned up a bit and properly mixed, those wonderful little idiosyncrasies of the original recordings are still present. It gives things a quite authentic and intimate feeling. 

I think my favorite example of this phenomenon can be heard on “Stone Dead.” The track is primarily centered around this twangy little guitar part that stays rather consistent throughout the track though it does get warped around a bit with some intricate delays that twist time and pitch enthusiastically. The melody played on the guitar feels rather elegiac in itself, giving a slightly haunting vibe even before it begins to be twisted around. But this aesthetic isn’t limited to the guitar either. On “Who We Are Today,”  this principle is applied beautifully to the vocals in such a keenly haunting way. The words almost feel like there are evaporating into a fog throughout, maintaining just enough of a form to be recognizable as words. The guitar takes the supporting role here, providing little distorted plucks and plinks in the otherwise cavernous atmosphere. 

All of this is helped by the particularly intimate recording medium. That little microphone is working overtime to capture these small pieces of improvised performance. It’s hard to imagine what this album might sound like if recorded any other way, but I certainly feel like something may have been lost. That raw feeling is what makes this magical along with the wide variety of pieces that were captured in this way.