ALBUM REVIEW: PUP – ‘Who Will Look After The Dogs?’
Canadian punk band PUP are back with their fifth studio album called ‘Who Will Look After The Dogs?’. This full-length album dropped on Friday, May 2nd, and includes 12 tracks. After their 2022 album, they went back into the studio again and produced a new album with John Congleton, including songs like ‘Paranoid’, ‘Hallways’, ‘Get Dumber’ and ‘Olive Garden’.
This new record includes some amazing guitar riffs played by Stefan Babcock, who also is the lead singer of the band, and the other guitarist, Steve Sladkowski. The heavy bass lines are played by Nestor Chumak, and the uptempo rhythms on drums are played by Zack Mykula. This composition of four that started in Toronto, Canada, has given us a powerful sound within the punk rock scene since 2010, when the band was formed under the name Topanga. PUP’s debut record, ‘PUP’, was released on October 8, 2013, and since then they haven’t stopped doing what they seem to be enjoying the most, making and playing music with each other.
First Single
On the 9th of January PUP released ‘Paranoid’; it’s their first single and the start of the new era that would give us the album ‘Who Will Look After The Dogs?’. This song shows the amazing quality and talent that PUP has as a group. When starting the song, we immediately jump into the song with Stefan screaming, “Don’t call it a fallout.” After which we end up in a punk-esque verse that then leads into a catchy chorus that sticks in your head because of the lyrics. Halfway through the song, we merge into a break that is played in half-time, which gives a nice extra addition to the rest of the song because this half-time vibe lingers for the rest of the song. This song immediately gives a good start to the new era of PUP as a band, and this song also hypes people to check out PUP because of what else is to come in the near future.
Second Single
The second single from this record that they released was ‘Hallways’. It was released on the 12th of February. Together with this song, the album was announced, and it also included the cover art, including the title of the record and a car with dogs in it. When first listening to it, it sounds different from Paranoid, but the feelings of a little slower song with the lyrics being about the theme of not wanting to address the loss of someone/something really put you into a state of thinking about life. Lyrics like ‘Cause when one door closes / It might never open’ and ‘I’m losing the will to keep dragging on, but I can’t die yet ’cause who will look after the dog?’ reinforce these thoughts. Even though it has the classic PUP punk rock guitar sound throughout the song, it feels a little more experimental than the first single they released. The mixing and production on the song are done very well, and the instrumentation of the song is very nice to listen to. This is also the song on the album that includes the album title of the record.
Third Single
The next song they released was ‘Get Dumber, which features multi-talented artist and good friend of PUP, Jeff Rosenstock. Together with this song, they also announced a tour throughout the US together with Jeff after they announced a tour for Europe and the UK earlier this year. This song sounds like a song that fits both of their styles in music. A punk-rock song with heavy guitars, uptempo rhythm and a great bassline. When listening to the song, you can clearly hear that they had a lot of fun making this song. Jeff says the lyrics: “Oooooooohhhhhhh, lyrics.” Stefan explains that Jeff forgot the lyrics and said this during the recording, and they found it so funny they decided to keep it in the song. Together with a song, they also released a music video that was animated by Dragan Miljkovic, which is really well done, and it makes the song even funnier than it already was. And it also included the members playing their instruments and the singers singing in a microphone. All around, this is just a really good and fun song, and for the PUP and Jeff Rosenstock fans, it is very iconic that they now, after all those years, finally have an official track together.
Final Single
The final single was released on the 29th of April, which was 3 days before the release of the actual album, and the song is called ‘Olive Garden’. This song is only a minute and 52 seconds long, but the song is amazing. The distortion of the guitar sounds amazing, and the riff they play during the chorus also is very catchy. Then we get into a refrain where they sing “Ah-ah”, which is going to be recognisable when played live during their upcoming tour and that the whole crowd can sing along to. It sounds a bit like PUP in 2016 but then more experimental. The ending of the song also is sort of abrupt with a lot of distortion, which gives it a perfect ensign to a punk song.
First Part of the Album
We start off the album with the song ‘No Hope’; This song is about feeling hopeless and emotionally drained, especially in the context of a relationship or personal failure and it immediately sets the tone of the album with good guitar riffs with distortion played by Stefan and Steve, with an uptempo and good rhythm with cool fills played by Zack and Nester also add a nice bassline to it. It also includes cool vocal harmonies, and it sounds like a classic PUP-style song. It shows how amazing PUP as a band is even after being around in the scene since 2010, meanwhile they are still evolving as a band. It also has a nice break in the song where there is almost no sound before going into the ending of the song where you hear a loud guitar noise that leads into ‘Olive Garden’. This song is “very stupid but wonderful”, as Stefan explains. It’s noisy and raw but has a nice melodic touch to the song, giving the feeling of a sort of anxiety because of the amount of distortion that is used during the song. After this song we move into ‘Concrete’. This feels like a little more of an emotional song in comparison to the other two; the tempo is a bit calmer, the singing voice sounds a bit more sad and the chords create a sad style. The melodic vibes in the chorus make a beautiful song and make it a pleasure to listen to. Next up we move into ‘Get Dumber’; this is a classic punk song that features Jeff Rosenstock on it. Stefan says that he wrote the song in the basement of Jeff when he was on tour. Not only did they release this amazing punk song with great guitar riffs, but they also announced a co-headlining tour together. Not for the first time; they did this about ten years ago as well. “I recorded the first demo for it on his guitar using his mics and his computer. Maybe because the ghost of Jeff was in the room with me, I always imagined our voices on this song together, so I was very happy when he agreed to sing on it.” says Stefan about the song. With the uptempo in the song and catchy guitar riffs, it stays in your head and makes it a truly iconic song. After this song that they produced together with Jeff, we get to hear ‘Hunger For Death’. It’s a bit of a quieter and slower song, but the lyrics make this song very powerful and fit perfectly on this album. The instrumental break towards the ending of the song gives you the feeling of actual anxiety, with distorted and hard-sounding guitars strengthening this feeling. We end the first part of the album with ‘Needed To Hear It’. It sounds like a classic PUP song with heavy guitar riffs that sound nice in your ear, a cool bassline that gives the groove to the song and a sick drumming pattern that makes it danceable. In the song he says, I was sick and tired of letting you blame me for all your fucking problems, just ‘cause you couldn’t solve them.” The theme of the song is about a breakup. This theme is not only reflected in this song but is recycled several times throughout this album.
Second Part of the Album
We start off the second part of the album with ‘Paranoid’. It was the first single released from the album and has the most streams so far, well deserved. It’s an amazing song to start off this new era, and this song immediately paints a picture of the vibe of the album. This song is relatively uptempo and brings a lot of energy into this album. Then we move into ‘Falling Outta Love’. It’s another song about breaking up. The track hits hard with fast guitars and Zack’s relentless drumming sending the emotion forward. Stefan’s vocals sound pretty raw here; his voice cracks with just the right amount of desperation, capturing the feeling of spiralling after love falls apart. The instrumental break gives the song an extra addition before launching back into the final chorus. The next song up is a slightly slower one called ‘Hallways’. The second single that was released before the album came out, this song is about keeping hope even though you broke up with someone. The meaning of the song is beautiful, because with this song they try to pass on hope. Despite the fact that people feel bad after breaking up with their ex, you should keep holding on. The song feels a little more experimental, but it worked out really well. The song is a pleasure to listen to because of the tempo and the catchy guitar chorus, and also the switch to half-time during the song works super well. The next one on the record is called ‘Cruel’; it’s a pretty short one but a really strong song. The guitar riff the song starts off with captures the feeling of not meaning to be causing pain or suffering to others. The extremely noisy outro that gets created by the distortion from the guitars getting introduced with a great drum fill is an amazing add-on to the song and perfectly ends the song. After the heavy ending of Cruel, we move into ‘Best Revenge’. This song has one of the better lyric writings on the album; it’s another song about being in a breakup and feeling that life is falling apart after the breakup while using a lot of emotions during the song. The relatively calm tempo fits perfectly with the theme of the song, and the harmony during the chorus also sounds beautiful due to the good mixing that is used. The instrumental break and the bridge use a cool instrumental with a cool guitar solo that tops it off during the bridge, meanwhile Stefan is singing in the background. Then we move into the final part of the song where everything comes together and finishes off the song with an abrupt ending. And then we arrive at the last song, ‘Shut Up’. It feels like the album went by very quickly, and we end with a good album closer song that sums up the theme ‘breakup’ very well. Even though the song is more about feeling stuck and useless while someone you care about is moving on and doing well. Stefan compares their unmotivated life to the other person’s success, showing feelings of jealousy, regret, and self-doubt. It’s honest and sad and shows how hard it can be to watch someone move forward while you’re still lost. This can also be heard well in the instrumental; it starts quietly with a simple guitar that only plays chords, and slowly the song builds up with an instrumental break towards the end of the song; more and more is added, and the drums fill in until all the instruments come together during the last chorus after the bridge. We end the song with an instrument where you can hear the different talents of the musicians. The song ends abruptly, and with it, the album.
Conclusion
That was the album, a beautiful whole with as main theme songs about ‘breakup’. We will see a lot more of this talented band from Canada, because in the coming months they will be on tour in the UK & EU, US & Canada. What makes ‘Who Will Look After The Dogs?’ stand out is how PUP manages to mix raw emotion with explosive punk energy. The lyrics are deeply personal and vulnerable, but the music remains loud, gritty, and fun. It’s an album that invites both chaos and a lot of meaningful lyrics, one you can cry to and scream along with at a show. Whether you’re new to PUP or a longtime fan, this record proves they’re still evolving without losing what makes them great.
