Pupppy‘s new release Shit In The Apple Pie is a small glimpse into the melancholy world of songwriter Will Rutledge. Drawing from the 90’s more naval gazing sensibilities Rutledge weaves a narrative of social awkwardness, misanthropy, and human absurdity. An aural experience that captures the dysthymian sentiment of a Vonnegut novel is the closest comparison I can make. The instrumentation is solid throughout, Ruttledge traverses genres from alt-country to pseudo-shoegaze with aptitude.
The album is most certainly not melodramatic by any stretch of the imagination however, it’s not to hard to imagine the band giving a wink to the audience over the morose lyrical content. After all, calling out one’s self-defeating and depressing bullshit and then laughing at it is one of the best ways to move past said bullshit. Shit In The Apple Pie‘s tone remains consistently upbeat, despite itself sometimes even.
“Beans” is in my opinion the strongest song of the album, using the best contrast of lyrical performance and instrumentation on the album. The song is very layered and the guitar sound is quite good, with a great slide guitar and heavily distorted lead playing off the dynamics of the vocals. Also with lyrics like, “My foot is stuck in my mouth, until I shove it all the way down the bottom of my throat, then I puke truth all over you” the band’s tongue in cheek humor is in full display. “Outcast,” “Fucked Up,” and “Doug” are also some of my top picks but there really aren’t any weak songs on the album.
For a debut release this is good material, Pupppy doesn’t fall into the trap that many songwriters who attempt to be “overly earnest” fall into and become a self parody. The self awareness and humor interjected through the work along with the great group dynamics between the vocals and instrumentation are what make this album truly good.
Rating: 9.5/10
