Seven

Shutups seventh EP, Seven, finds the group abandoning the bedroom tones of 2020’s 5 in favor of something both maximalist and aggressive. The Oakland 4-piece unlock deeply nested nü-metal influences and kraut rock fantasies, filling in the gaps with vulnerable finger picked passages and cinematic synth landscapes. Lyrically, the EP reflects on an increase in screen time during the 2020 pandemic. During the closing mantra of “Shit Opus”, singer Hadley Davis' exhausted drone of “Tech reject, FaceTime my last breath” best embodies the fresh routine/plague of video conference calls. The steady slow burning "One of Them" leads into “Drunk Passenger”, the metaphorical iceberg dragging against the hull of a ship, tearing the EP apart before being bandaged back by the closing lines of “Infinitely Better”— “Now I feel better, infinitely better, call me when you feel it too” is the only shred of hope presented in this collection, so what better message to end on?