Danish experimental trio Poptones are back with a second taste of their upcoming album ‘Pure,’ and this one’s got a wild origin story. Say Something Now is out now via Happy Metal Records, and it’s equal parts soaring, strange, and unexpectedly heartfelt.
Where lead single Skin of Sea hinted at grandeur and instinctive composition, Say Something Now jumps right off the deep end. The song was born during an artist residency on Denmark’s windswept North Jutland coast — in the very same seaside house where former Prime Minister Jens Otto Krag spent his final days. But instead of political ghosts or windswept musings, Poptones found inspiration in… UNO.
Yep, that UNO. The band invented a colour-coded improvisational game using the classic card deck, where each draw dictated a musical move. Red meant chaos, green meant stillness, and action cards threw curveballs. It’s like if Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies hooked up with John Zorn’s Cobra over a deck of plastic-coated madness.
“The chorus was taken straight from that improvisation,” the band explains. “Anders and Simon both drew red, so they had to go full unpredictable. Mads drew green and a ‘turn around’ card, which meant he had to play his bass backwards — fretting with his right hand. That tension created something magical.”
Despite the playful chaos at its core, Say Something Now lands with a surprisingly emotional weight. Lyrically, it’s about the dreams we build in youth — bright, bold, and full of potential — and the bittersweet moment you realize those dreams might only ever live in your head.
“The lyrics are about delusionally imagining and dreaming about one’s own future, only to realize that it’s just a dream,” the band says. “A hopeful story of youth and feeling ready to take the next step in life.”
Poptones — Mads Bertelsen (vocals/bass), Simon Hiemstra (guitar), and Anders Poulsen (drums) — first came together on Denmark’s rural west coast before refining their sound at Copenhagen’s Rhythmic Music Conservatory. Their upcoming album Pure is an adventurous mix of solo compositions and experimental improvisations, featuring guests like Oscar Alstrup (saxophone), Victor Kaas (EYES, LLNN), Rémy Gouffault (vibraphone), and Harald Ingvarsson (guitar).
‘Pure’ drops September 26th digitally and on vinyl via Happy Metal Records, following their 2022 debut ‘Between Darkness & Daylight’. If Say Something Now is any indication, this record won’t just be breaking rules — it’ll be bending reality.
‘Pure’ track list
- Skin of Sea
- Say Something Now
- This Will Be a Good Day
- Asleep
- Mirror World (feat. Victor Kaas)
- O of Life
- Narrow Streets
- 17 Hours
- Thin Air
- I Am Here
- Hypnagogic State
- Eyes Closed
Pre-order or pre-save ‘Pure’ now and check out the visualiser for Say Something Now to witness the beauty born from structured chaos.
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