Superorganism: World Wide Pop | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- Superorganism are something else, man. Formed across multiple continents and timezones, playing water as an instrument and exploding into technicolour, joyous existence out of what seemed like essentially nowhere, the collective have spun a glorious twist on pop. Now world-travelled and sans three of their original members, they glide down from the heavens to post a brand new record, apropos of their style: World Wide Pop. This new batch of songs is more focused, more conventional if you will, but all are still bursting at the seams with a deep sense of colour, flair, and charm that won’t quit.

Although Superorganism are without those three members, the number of other recruits they’ve enlisted restores some of that energy. See for reference the likes of Pi Ja Ma, Stephen Malkmus, and Gen Hoshino. All inject additional, unique personality into songs that are already overflowing with it, but to me CHAI’s inclusion was a true gem. Superorganism’s former touring partners provide two contributions. Teenager was the lead single and is basically a three chord pop punk progression away from being a late '90’s radio hit. Instead, there’s a blur of electronic elements that mess around simple rhythms and that is all ignited with, well, a car ignition. Main vocals here and indeed across the record, have the energy of a fish-out-of-water cartoon where a deadpan protagonist is transported to a magical world of the sublime. Of that second number, Solar System, if the intention was to write something to generate sympathy for Pluto's sad exclusion from the pantheon of planets by relegating it to personal alienation then by golly gumdrops, poor Pluto, my heartstrings quiver! It’s a mid-paced plod but is permeated by squelchy synths and these perfectly balanced guitars that sound both endearing and despondent at the same time.

Later in the record, there are some more self reflective songs. Both Put Down Your Phone and crushed.zip place a vibrant veneer over the top of these moments to avoid a deeply unstoked attitude. Put Down Your Phone’s song title is its refrain and is both self-instructive and a call for personal connectivity. crushed.zip goes back to more direct song structures and benefits from it greatly. World Wide Pop and Everything Falls Apart begin with an almighty bang. It is a bit unnervingly aggressive for such an upbeat group but nothing surprises me about this band any more. The cheeky audio interlude during the opening song -raving radio hosts singing their praise- is a wry touch.

More determined song structures make World Wide Pop a more cohesive record than its predecessors but it doesn’t lack in the kaleidoscope of drums, synths, swathes of textures, and endless group harmonies. Even if I took up a whole book to go through all the intricate little musical details, there would still be things I’d miss. This record doesn’t miss: it’s hit after hit after hit. In fact, it’s a World Wide hit.

- Matt Lynch.