Review Summary: Take this souvenir - they can't deny that you were here.
Did anyone really expect the unprecedented surge in popularity that MTV's Clone High, a short-lived, unusually clever hidden gem of adult animation, received almost two decades after its initial, abruptly-canceled run? Could anyone really predict that a dumbass-jock version of JFK would turn into a beloved internet sexyman for a few months? 2020 was a strange year, and Clone High's popularity is one of the perfect summations of 2020's uncanny strangeness - somehow, someway, everyone fell in love with a wry, fledgling series that'd been out of the public consciousness for quite some time by the year 2020. That said, in some ways, I'm really glad that this is the pop culture reality we're living in - Clone High's resurgence helped us discover and re-discover a lot of great things, like the exceptional comedic writing of Phil Lord & Chris Miller, and the off-kilter yet accessible
songwriting of Tommy Walter, the mind behind the Abandoned Pools and its' debut,
Humanistic, a surprisingly well-aged burst of 2000's alt rock that featured frequently in the likewise previously-underrated Clone High.
Striking a curious blend between psychedelic pop, 2000's mall music, and emo rock and metal,
Humanistic is both "of the times" and unexpectedly timeless, featuring a solid, twelve-track setlist of songs that take you back in time without ever once crossing into "dated" territory. "The Remedy" is an excellent microcosm of the album's overall sound - steady acoustics, distant, subtle synths, and Tommy Walter's moody, soft vocals play off of chugging, distorted guitars and dynamic, complicated drum beats, a mixture that presents a dichotomy between grunge and emo pop bulked up by psychedelic production choices (lots of reverb, subtle doubling and phase-shifting in the background). The best songs on the record push this sound to its absolute limit. The light, fluttery pop sound of "Blood" is bolstered by rough, sloppy distortion and flange/chorus-drenched, "Black Hole Sun"-esque guitars that sound like they've been submerged underwater; "Blood" transitions seamlessly into the bittersweet "Suburban Muse", building off of the hazy template set by "Blood" with acoustic arpeggios and clinking, rhythmic piano synths. "Sunny Day" is by far and away the best song on the record, with wonderfully dreamlike production courtesy of its billowing bassline, heavily-altered and processed drums, light-as-air backing vocals, and strange, filtered samples.
Humanistic is full of unique, dream pop-influenced production and songwriting choices, from the fantastic blend of lounge-jazz elevator music and PM Dawn's "Set Adrift" that is "Ruin Your Life" to the tremolo-heavy strings and hectic, submerged drumming of "Monster".
When
Humanistic isn't championing a lush, strangely finicky alternative-rock sound, it's either doing one of two things - straightforward, if gloomy, pop songs, or aggressive, industrial-influenced rock. The traditional pop moments of
Humanistic sound wonderful - the strings and clean, ringing guitars of "Start Over" create a wonderfully bittersweet atmosphere, and "Never" is a breath of fresh air, a blast of moody acoustic pop given texture and sadness by rich piano lines and twinkling ride cymbals. The edgier, more industrial sections of
Humanistic come with a bit of a caveat - they're very well-written all around, but their coarse nature often clashes somewhat with the floatier music surrounding them. "Fluorescein" is an immersive, brooding blast of alt-metal, the chugging, heavily-chromatic riffs of "Seed" bring to mind the Smashing Pumpkins, and the chugging riffs and distorted harmonics of "L.V.B.D." cultivate a powerfully Filter-esque sound that utterly slaps.
None of these songs are bad in the slightest - I'd go as far to say that there isn't a single bad song on this record. But the overall sound of these tracks feel somewhat out-of-place compared to the songs all around them - it feels as though
Humanistic is the lovechild of an alternative EP and a grunge/industrial EP that Walter was working on separately at the time, before deciding to merge them into one entire album. The songs that effectively combine these two sounds - tracks like "Mercy Kiss" and the aforementioned "Monster" and "The Remedy" - are great, but they are few and far between.
It's a shame that it took Abandoned Pools this long to be appreciated outside of the 2000's emo scene, because
Humanistic is really, really good in spite of its somewhat-disjointed identity.
Humanistic just dances and skips from one great-sounding song to the next, its' already-compelling songwriting and sense of style given texture and nuance by its' incredible production. Even in its heaviest moments,
Humanistic is a weirdly chill record, the psychedelic fluidity of its songs communicating vulnerability and wistful nostalgia perfectly. If it was just a little more focused, if it honed in and developed either its alt or industrial elements more (instead of a sometimes-inconsistent blend of the two), then I'd be willing to call
Humanistic a straight-up masterpiece. Instead, it's merely a hidden gem with some of the strongest songwriting of the 2000's, and in the grand scheme of things, one could hardly call that a sin.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:
The Remedy
Blood
Suburban Muse
Sunny Day
Never
