As far as remarks about how this summer has felt for those in the Northern Hemisphere go, STUPID HOT (in all caps specifically) is a pretty fitting statement. Heatwaves and overall rising temperatures across the European mainland have made everyday life unbearable in some places and, according to the World Health Organisation, has led to a rise in heat-related deaths; the Met Office has predicted that around 2,700 people were killed as a result of UK heatwaves in May and June this year. It’s all precedented, of course, and it’s only likely to get worse, so it’s worth reckoning with how we are going to survive in the years ahead when things become somehow even more unbearable.
foamboy see this. The Portland pop duo – consisting of producer Wil Bakula and vocalist Katy Ohsiek – construct their latest album against this backdrop, referencing the climate and its extreme swings in each direction. “I don’t wanna die inside a car… To breathe in deep as I can on rooftop bars / Try to be unafraid of the rising waters,” Ohsiek hopes on the opening track to STUPID HOT. Come the next track of the band’s third album, “SUMMERING”, Ohsiek talks about “the wildfire smoke stinging my eyes and throat”. “The summer can hurt,” they sing with an ache.
The pain comes twofold; the album may refer to the blistering heat but it also relates to the hurt of longing that memory serves. Continuing to pull on the thread of the duo 2024’s album Eating Me Alive, Ohsiek is still in the throes of a bad breakup. Across STUPID HOT we find them finding ways to cope with new found loneliness, reflecting on where a relationship went sour, and finding a new identity through it all. Against a backdrop of a world literally on fire, it can make the pain feel that bit more pointed.
This helps too, because the album is a much more club-ready, synthetic, and upbeat affair than we’ve had from the duo before. On “LONELY” a swampy, Thundercat-esque bass rides up against what sounds like a keytar/theremin solo, adding a delightful retro feel that is easy to get on board with and move to. On opening track “FAR AWAY”, Bakula builds momentum with molten lava-like bass synths and Europop pianos, bringing vim and colour. Elsewhere on “LOUD BOY” the guitar riffs are cut up almost past the point of recognition but add a jittery feeling of being on edge (which is fitting for a song about “a super drunk guy who kept dominating the conversation”).
Even when the mood is in the minor key and more downtrodden, the duo still manage to channel an infectious energy. With its synths flickering like passing overhead streetlights, “SOUL SEARCH” feels like a night time driving anthem as well as a club soundtrack. One of the strengths of the album is when it latches onto a groove and stays with it, as it does on “SOUL SEARCH”. It turns the track into a low light, sweaty jam right up until a crescendo of noise, like the song’s character passing directly in front of the speaker and leaving; the way the beat still pulsates from behind what sounds like a concrete wall is an exciting moment, akin to that gasp of fresh air as you walk out from the dancefloor and onto the street. Later on, during “BOOK AND A COLD”, Bakula locks in again, managing to find a way to inject energy against Ohsiek’s downtrodden words and delivery. Come the track’s final minute it shoots for the stars, peppy and bouncy pianos seeing the song out.
Ohsiek languishes in the heartache at times: on “SUMMERING” they are pondering their identity with and without others, noticing “I’m unrecognizable when I’m alone” over fizzy, percolating synths; and on the aforementioned “BOOK AND A COLD” they come to terms with a breakup with a bitterness in their voice. They do manage to inject some sardonic humour into it all though, which keeps the album from lounging in self-indulgent pining. “Every hair length is a trap,” they observe on “SELF IMPROVEMENT” as they break apart the impossibility of making yourself truly better, while on “SOUL SEARCH” they open with the scathing “My mother told me to soul search / It kinda feels like code for keeping my problems to myself.” On “LONELY” they even recognise how silly their longing is. “How dare you move on! / Okay so it’s been a decade,” they joke.
While the album boasts plenty of tracks ready to be slipped into summer party playlists, it does lack in an organic and handmade feeling that their previous album had. Eating Me Alive was overstuffed in parts, but the occasional sliver of live instrumentation made it feel that bit more human. Last year’s lime, knife, time, hand EP had that bit more daring in terms of range, but foamboy can be forgiven for wanting to keep within certain parameters here, to keep locked into a certain mood. Bakula is a talented producer and he has a keen ear for busy rhythms and decoration, and it is worth recognising that this is a step forward for the duo in terms of sound.
Sometimes it doesn’t quite hit right (“A MILLION TIMES” can’t quite lock in with its hurried, nervy percussion, and the shorter interludes feel like unfinished sketches) but there is still plenty to enjoy, either as angsty pop jams or background beats for a pool party. It may take a listen or two to get in sync with their groove here, but against the backdrop of a climate crisis that we are all suffering through and that we can all relate to, it is easy enough to. Even if you’re feeling downtrodden like Ohsiek, we’re all in this together, so you may as well dance along with foamboy to the slow heath death of the earth.
