Canadian Musician - January / February 2020 | Page 48
together the songs, but executing them with as much ener-
gy as we can when recording. We’re very “heart-on-sleeve”-
type guys; that much is clear by the lyrics. But we spend a lot
of time crafting and building and pulling apart songs to get
them to a certain place where they feel thought-through. We
generally try to make the parts within the song feel integral
and coherent with each other, and when we feel good about
the song itself and the coherence of its constituent parts,
then it’s time to try to lay it down in the tracking room with
absolute abandon … It ends up being less about the bal-
ance, or the performance, and more about the energy and
the careful construction being subverted by rawness that
can only be achieved by going in and givin’er.
ZACK MYKULA
PUP
PUP’s critically-heralded third LP, Morbid Stuff, is as calculated
as it is combustible. The album showcases the same emo-
tive-but-uncompromising punk rock that propelled them to
impressive heights while covering a wider breadth of sonic
influence and real-world experience – and that’s saying a lot.
•
•
•
•
•
•
YC Drum Company Custom Kitty Cat Orange or
Ludwig Early-‘70s Psychedelic Red Kit
• 22-in. Kick
• 16-in. Floor Tom
• 13-in. Tom
Ludwig Acrolite Reissue 14 x 6.5-in. Snare
Noble & Cooley Solid Shell Classic Walnut Snare
Paiste Cymbals
• 22-in. 2002 or Masters Dark Ride
• 20-in. Formula 602 Modern Essentials
Crash
• 19-in. Giant Beat Crash
• 15-in. Giant Beat Hats
Roland SPD-SX Sample Pad
Meinl Percussion Shaker
CM: Morbid Stuff showcases the widest breadth of
styles we’ve seen from PUP thus far. Was it a con-
scious decision to try and widen the spectrum and
explore more dynamics this time out or more of a
natural occurrence?
ZM: I am not sure if it was conscious, but I am certain we
all get bored pretty quickly and are always looking for new
angles. But, in trying to spread out stylistically, we also try to
keep our finger on what makes our songs sound like us. For
me, personally, I am always trying to find a new or slightly
weird way to say something familiar without alienating my
bandmates or the listener. That means the drum parts have
to work for the song, but I’ll also try my best to not emulate
your “standard” classic rock or punk grooves; that said, I am
guilty of totally leaning into the classics. I mean, they’re clas-
sics for a reason…
CM: What’s the most recent piece of gear you’ve added
to that set-up and how did it earn the spot?
ZM: My Noble & Cooley walnut snare from their Solid Shell
Classics series. It earned its place by being an absolutely
beautiful sounding and looking snare. Very dynamic. Sings at
every volume. I am honestly over the moon about it.
CM: You guys play no-holds-barred, heart-on-sleeve
punk rock. You’ve also won the SOCAN Songwriting
Prize, been shortlisted for the Polaris Prize multiple
times, etc. I realize these aren’t mutually exclusive,
but can you tell us about straddling the line between
raw, undiluted emotion and “contemplative songwrit-
ing,” and how you’ve gone about striking that balance
over the years?
ZM: A lot of it comes down to taking the time to carefully put
48 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
MATT SCHULZ
Holy Fuck’s soon-to-drop sixth studio album, Deleter, finds
the band going even further down the rabbit hole at the in-
tersection of technology and humanity, which should be wel-
come news to fans of the boundary-pushing quartet consid-
ering that’s been their M.O. since day one and has produced
some truly stellar results so far.