POPulus releases new album before the end of the semester

Troy University’s POPulus released a six-song album on April 24. I know POPulus, Troy’s popular music ensemble, for their absolutely stellar live performances and their shockingly good festivals. It was their 2023 Troyapalooza performances that I attribute to my love for live music.

They were my first brush with live music, and what a group to introduce me to it. I felt a bit like a kid that night as I sat in the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park Amphitheatre in awe of the musical talent resident here at Troy. Needless to say, I’m incredibly fond of POPulus and routinely impressed by them and their work as an ensemble.

That said, I was sorely let down listening to their newest album, “Out Alive.”

With a group as exceptional as they are, they left me with more than a few questions on the direction taken with the album. The first and most important being why such a cookie-cutter approach was taken for more than half the album.

I’ve seen each member of POPulus perform several times and can confidently say that they’re such an intensely skilled group with unmatched energy, so it makes me confused why the vast majority of the record falls so flat. The four front runners just seem to ebb and flow in a place of unremarkable immobility.

I understand that popular music is, by design, reduced by some measure, but left to my devices, I’m led to believe they boiled too much off. Yet, a gravelly sample cuts through on the fifth track, “SOTS,” to break the standards that the record had set for itself.

“SOTS” really stands on its own as the fifth track on “Out Alive.” It’s a rap anthem that shouts out Troy’s Sound of the South marching band through a series of cleverly written bars and witty nods. All the energy that may have been missed in the first tracks drip through and collect on this one, buried below it all.

Finally, if we hadn’t already with track five, we hit paydirt on track six. “Last Suppit (Live),” as the name suggests, is a live instrumental song from one of the ensemble’s performances, played solely by their horn and rhythm sections.

The horns absolutely rip on this song, the drums are an evil genius with a mind of their own, the keys are a cut above and the bass carves an insanely infectious groove. This is a perfect example of what I know POPulus for – musical talent that just can’t help but make audience members yell, scream and call out in amazement.   

Despite criticisms, I still adore POPulus. I still think they’re an incredible group of musicians that should absolutely be celebrated more often. Perhaps it’s personal preferences, maybe it’s a matter of taste, and I might just be the pickiest music listener out there, but my two cents to POPulus is to capture the magic they bring to the stage so routinely in the recording booth.

Command the attention, carve the grooves, build and deconstruct the rhythms and dial into the incredible synergy POPulus is known for, even when neither the stage nor the audience are there. It’s the energy that draws people to the performances – tap into that.  Bring the energy, bring the fire and bring the charm. That’s what gets people enchanted.