Superorganism started out their time as a band on a high note. As the intro to their brand new album World Wide Pop so humbly reminds us, the likes of Elton John and Howard Stern are huge fans of the group’s 2018 self-titled debut. Their draw is obvious, the poppy songwriting mixed with the left-field instrumentation makes for an unforgettable sugary tone throughout the album. That high of praise right out the gate can add pressure on an artist and on World Wide Pop, Superorganism toe the line between an enticing sophomore release and a collection of overthought, overproduced songs.
The first thing you notice when you press play is the loud, spastic instrumentation. Superorganism goes against any sort of traditional song structure and for the most part, it works out. Tracks like “Flying” and “Everything Falls Apart” sound like harmonious car crashes with the perfect amount of unpredictability. The sporadic nature of their synth-driven instrumentals can come up short though like on the title track, random beeps and phones ringing take away from the beauty of the vocal layering happening on the hook. Moments like the first verse on the aforementioned song where the lush synths are dropped and replaced by a phone vibrating seem unnecessary and take away from the overall texture of what could have been a terrific homage to the synthpop of the 80s.
While the instrumentals are bold and melodies are flirtatious, the songwriting seems like an afterthought. Repetitive hooks and the monotone deliveries of the verses seem largely uninspired. Much like the instrumentals, there are some silver linings, tracks like “Solar System” and “Into The Sun” are poetic and lean more into the concept of the song than the others. In those two songs Superorganism seem to strike the perfect balance between tradition and their own creative identity, unfortunately, moments like that don’t happen more often on World Wide Pop.
Overall, World Wide Pop is a snapshot of where Superorganism is creatively. They’re finding their footing sonically and attempting new ideas and tackling genres they never have before. While the highs on the album are high, the lows are apparent and hard to ignore. There is a battle between the band’s influences and their own vision for their sound which leaves them with a batch of great ideas that weren’t executed to their full potential.
