Review Summary: A solid sophomore album with some cool ideas attached.
Scuba Pop’s alluring cacophony of post, alt and noise rock provides a solid foundation for Scuba Cop to work on. A succinct two-sided record: one half is a battlement of fuzzed out guitars and sashaying grooves, the other is a stripped back amalgam of alt-rock riffs and ethereal post-punk charm. The imperturbable attitude seeping out of “Never Evolve” and “Sneak Attack” with their hypnotic drum beats and buzzsaw guitar tones, underpinned by Morgan’s vocal swagger in the ilk of the late Mark E. Smith, showcase the project’s respect for The Jesus Lizard and Pissed Jeans, while “Wormhole” and “Decide to Hide” reveal the album’s reverence for bands like Pixies and Jesus and Mary Chain. All of this is solid stuff on its own, but what makes
Scuba Pop so captivating is its production style. Whether Ely Morgan is taking Pee-wee Herman to literal extremes or not, the finished sound is inimitable to say the least. For any Gen Z-er reading this who doesn’t have a f*cking clue who Pee-wee Herman is, he was an American comedy character created by the late Paul Reubens in the late seventies and shortly after, captured the zeitgeist in the eighties with his TV show, The Pee-wee Herman Show.
Why am I bringing up Pee-wee Herman? Well, that’s where the name of this project derives – Scuba Cop is the titular character in Pee-wee’s favourite book. However, the reason I bring up the project’s name is because it seems to be taken rather literally here, with a production that has you feeling like you’re wearing a scuba diving suit listening to it.
Scuba Pop sounds suffocating: densely compacted with throaty guitars and a thickly soundscape that’s distorted and muffled. Add to the fact the vocals are intentionally submerged in the mix and it only adds to the authenticity and disorientating nature of wearing a scuba suit. In most cases this compromised state would be detrimental, but the approach seems to work surprisingly well here and only adds another layer of distinction to this record’s already colourful character. Apply all this good stuff to a lean, no-messing run time and we have a very appealing record on our hands. If you’re a fan of the aforementioned bands in this review, as well as other seminal acts such as Scratch Acid, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, this is worthy of your time. Interesting production style aside, the songwriting here is great, but with it, it synergises into a strong and fairly unique offering in 2024.
