Detroit eight-piece The Armed have revealed plans for the release of their third album: it’s called ULTRAPOP and arrives on April 16 through Sargent House. On the new album’s direction, the band’s Dan Greene says:
“Crafting vital art means presenting the audience with new and intriguing tensions—sonically, visually, conceptually. Over time and through use, those tensions become less novel and effective—and they become expectations. The concept of “subgenre” becomes almost the antithesis of vitality in art—itself a fetishization of expectation. ULTRAPOP seeks, in earnest, to create a truly new listener experience. It is an open rebellion against the culture of expectation in “heavy” music. It is a joyous, genderless, post-nihilist, anti-punk, razor-focused take on creating the most intense listener experience possible. It’s the harshest, most beautiful, most hideous thing we could make.“
Our first taste of The Armed’s “new and intriguing tensions” is “ALL FUTURES”, a sonic battering ram of a track that seems to fully realise their dream of creating electronic-imbued poppy post-hardcore. Although they already have eight members, the new track also features Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, whose tense playing ices the sonic cake – and what a delicious one it is. What’s incredible is that, for all the force and layers, “ALL FUTURES” is still a clean, bright and extremely catchy song – without sacrificing any of the urgency of what The Armed are trying to express. It’s quite a feat fully worthy of the name ULTRAPOP.
Watch the live video for “ALL FUTURES” below or listen to the studio version on streaming platforms.
The Armed’s new album ULTRAPOP comes out on April 16 through Sargent House. You can find the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
