NY-based poptropicaslutz! have released their new single, “Upside Down” featuring new age hip-hop artist PmBata today. The track is taken from the duo’s upcoming debut album, Face For The Radio, out October 13th. Seamlessly pairing pulsating electronic synths with classic pop-punk guitar riffs, the track boasts a verse from PmBata and production from Courtney Ballard (5SOS, Jessie J) and Kodeblooded (Sueco, Connor Kaufman).
Speaking about the song, the band explains, “Upside Down is a song about escapism and getting a new lease on life. It’s about coming to realize that the people around you are just prolonging the inevitable….so instead of running away, you run straight in.”
Imbuing their auto-tuned melodies with traces of Fall Out Boy, Hellogoodbye, Juice WRLD, Kelly Clarkson, and ‘10s SoundCloud rap, 21-year-old Christian Cicilia and 22-year-old Nick Crawford’s debut EP Just In Case The World Ends (2022) showcased their penchant for blending maximalist production with pop-punk for a highly danceable fusion of “hyper-punk”. In Face For The Radio, they up the distortion levels, leading with fuzzed out guitars and a sprinkling of alt-pop synths, with sugary melodies and emphatic rhythms that get you on your feet.
Face For The Radio is sonically and thematically their most cohesive collection of songs, crafted over the course of a year. Production flourishes from kodeblooded (Connor Kaufmann, Sueco) add glitchcore elements to form eleven sonically rich, textured tracks. By giving themselves the time to think out every aspect of the album ahead of time, the band was able to conceptualize the project before ever hitting the recording studio. Exploring themes of love and loss, the dark side or “underbelly” of success and what/who you’ll sacrifice to get there, the duo utilizes their confessional style of storytelling for effective songwriting.
Since signing to Epitaph, poptropicaslutz! have been on an upward trajectory that has propelled them from releasing a handful of standalone singles, to their breakout debut EP ‘just in case the world ends’, and most recently a split EP ‘Gossip Team’ with their friend, labelmate, and producer aldrch. As their infectious tracks garner over 1.3 million monthly streams, the band grows more confident in their status as a burgeoning alt-pop force with each release. Now entering the next stage in their careers with their first full-length, they’re ready for their time to shine. The band muses, “Having a ‘face for the radio’ has historically described those better fit for something else…. those set up for success, but not in their own lane. At times, that’s been us, but not anymore.”
The Truth Is In The Glitter Tour Dates
August 16 – Columbus, OH
August 18 – New York, NY
w/Magnolia Park
10/5 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
10/6 – San Antonio, TX @ The Rock Box
10/7 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall
10/9 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
10/10 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
10/13 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA
10/14 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone
10/16 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
10/17 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
10/19 – Roseville, CA @ Goldfields Trading Post
10/20 – Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
10/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
10/25 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
10/27 – Des Moines, IA @ Woolys
10/28 – Sauget, IL @ Pops
10/29 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts