Album review: Poppy – Negative Spaces

Poppy’s only constant is a total lack of constancy. It’s one of her defining characteristics, alongside a remarkable habit of embossing her own idiosyncrasies on anything she attempts musically.

Consequently, as much as she shapeshifts, nothing she does feels out of character and she never goes back on herself – 2023’s Zig might have been an audacious shift into alt. pop, but it’s not the same flavour of pop as, say, 2018’s Am I A Girl? And who would she be if she made 2020’s I Disagree all over again? Heavy Poppy might have returned for album number six, but she’s still pushing forwards.

One of Negative Spaces’ biggest talking points is that ex-Bring Me The Horizon multi-instrumentalist Jordan Fish is producing, alongside House of Protection’s (and former FEVER 333 member) Stephen Harrison. Jordan’s influence isn’t just writ large as production goes; it’s an almost overwhelming influence on the album’s sound, particularly on the synth-tinged tracks vital and the cost of giving up, the serrated riffs of lead single new way out and as the abrasive but significantly more disjointed they’re all around us. His sound arguably crowds out Poppy’s own distinctness at times, and given he’s had such a profound influence on rock and metal this past decade, this incidentally results in a slight compromise on originality.

Still, Poppy’s own quirks still break through the surface. The skittish pop metal of crystallised – almost an alt. version of Dua Lipa’s Physical – elegantly bridge the gap between Zig and Negative Spaces, and there’s an intriguing amount of Nine Inch Nails worship, too.

Opener have you had enough writhes with the propulsive energy Trent Reznor and co. pioneered yet fuses beautifully with Poppy’s own template, as does the pounding electro-rock of push go. Elsewhere, those craving more of the caustic screams she exhibited so brilliantly on Knocked Loose’s Suffocate earlier this year get their wish in the form of the center’s falling out, almost as a noisy spiritual sequel to that particular song.

There’s a sense Poppy’s eager to stuff as much into the tracklist as possible – the back half of Negative Spaces boasts muscular arena rock (complete with whoa-ohs) in the form of the title-track, sobering yet flighty balladry in closer halo, and the eerie, almost robotic and deeply truthful ballad tomorrow. 'I like entertaining / Don’t we all like entertaining? / Tell me, it’s not just for me anymore'. she admits.

Put together, it’s all a bit unkempt. Adding to this, hey there’s woozy attempt at blossoming beauty feels more befitting of a hip-hop album before it course-corrects onto a rockier road. As scattered as it can be, its hit rate remains high and it’s never content to just coast. Then again, enjoy this version of Poppy while it lasts – knowing her, she likely won’t make anything like this again. Wherever she travels next on her nomadic drift through genres, she will rival it in quality.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Bring Me The Horizon, BABYMETAL, Spiritbox

Negative Spaces is out now via Sumerian.