POP. 1280 is a novel by Jim Thompson, published in 1964 and it contains a tale of deceit, coercion and murderous intentions. POP. 1280 is also a three piece band from New York, who have revealed their single, “Brennschluss“, from their imminent new album, Museum On The Horizon, which is on the label Profound Lore Records.
The beginning is intriguing with it’s sequenced drum machine and synths, but then they dragged me in with those guitar chords. The vocals from lead singer, Chris Bug, are bleak and flow into the dirge of the guitar, whilst the drum machine forges on regardless. The synths almost paint a soundscape behind all this, vast and a little dark. A narrative, describing a kind of first-contact-gone-wrong, influenced in part by Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem, is how POP. 1280 explains the lyrics.
It is hard to quantify POP. 1280’s sound. It is most certainly post-punk that reaches back to Joy Division and like Joy Division, what seems abstract is completely danceable, yet that industrial/noise is also there. Maybe that’s the point that they are not in a pigeon hole and there is something satisfying in that. Brennschluss is German for end of burning. This normally refers to when a rocket is in flight and reaches the point when the fuel runs out or is cut off, leaving the rocket to the mercy of only gravity. POP. 1280 have definitely not reached the end of their fuel supply and you should definitely check out “Brennschluss“.
https://pop1280.bandcamp.com/album/museum-on-the-horizon
Onyx Music Reviews 