“I’ve been blessed with shit luck/ There are some things that’ll never change,” Stefan Babcock shouts in his trademark full-blooded howl on the track “Can’t Win,” one of 10 barnburners on their album “The Dream Is Over”. That defeatist attitude is the crux of PUP’s formidable sophomore album, but this Canadian band turns self-doubt into brash defiance, self-loathing into something worth celebrating about. It’s a record plagued by hyper-aggressive machismo and a selfishly egotistical streak — see the noxious “Old Wounds” or “DVP”‘s dizzying tailspin — and the only reason it works as magnificently as it does is because you can tell Babcock doesn’t believe in any of his own bullshit.
He’s already given up on himself as much, if not more so, than everyone else has given up on him, and The Dream Is Over is the sound of him pummeling himself into submission. But throughout, PUP never lose their sense of humor or fun. As a result, they’ve made the summer soundtrack to sweat-filled days, beer-soaked nights, and the regretful, wheezing feeling you get the morning after chain-smoking too many cigarettes. you’ve gotta love a rock album that opens with a tongue-in-cheek band-mate-related death threat. “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will” is the perfect introduction to the Toronto four piece’s particular brand of pop punk.
PUP’s The Dream Is Over is full of this unrelenting fatalism and , balanced out by hooky and happy melodies, scream-sung choruses and drums kept so high up in the mix that the percussion practically become a second frontman
The Dream Is Over pulls off a thrilling balancing act between rising from the ashes and falling apart, and that makes it one of the best, punk records released in a long while.
The Fat Angel Sings 