Prelude to Greatness| Posted July 15, 2015 The Pitch:
A new electronically based band from the frontman behind Everyday Sunday.
What Works:
Mix some Eleventyseven with a few shakes of Everfound and stir in some Everyday Sunday, and you get a rough idea of what Populis sounds like. The band's got a captivating energy that comes out like a well-made dessert: sweet, but not so sweet that your blood sugar sends you into a coma.
Electronic pop singing about how great love is or how lucky the singer is to have such a great girl is safe, commercial territory. But even such a familiar approach would fall on its face if not given artistically sound execution. You've got to sell the music, and the guys of Populis do just that.
The melodies are just earnest enough to feel like genuine statements. The lyrics ride the waves safely enough to avoid drowning in the clichés that arise in the mix. "Lucky" is a fine example of everything that works well about this band. It's got a shiny pop paint, earworm-bound chorus, electro-hooks and lyrical declarations of love-- pretty much all the ingredients for a pop hit. It'd be easy to write it off as another bubblegum-pop number. But it's simply a worthy and enjoyable cut. There's something to be said for music that clicks with what it's trying to do.
"It Was Alright" takes a more laid-back approach. Standing in contrast to upbeat dancers like "Come Alive" and "Lucky," the track proves that the band has range that still fits within the glowing electric package. The EP is short and only offers a small sampling of the Populis sound, but consider me intrigued and on board for a full course musical treat.
Areas To Tackle Next:
I'd like to see subsequent releases offer songs that don't make me think "Eleventyseven meets Everfound" but rather "Ah, this is Populis." This is a debut EP, and in that role it works wonderfully to introduce talent and tease musical gems to come. The next step for subsequent ventures is to take the ingredients here and mix them into something Populis can truly call their own. Lyrically, I think there are more profound statements waiting to be penned just beneath the surface.
Closing Thoughts:
I had a feeling from just looking at the cover art that I was going to like these guys, and from the first notes of the instrumental opener, I was pretty much sold. Start to finish, this is a sweet and enjoyable electropop offering that promises great things. It's only a beginning, and there are some areas to work on. But when an act can start with this much promise, you can't help but sit back and hope that they can run with this and launch themselves to daring new musical heights.
Song to Download Now:
"Lucky" (Get it on iTunes here.)
to add lyrics if not listed.
