We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra

by Pop Unknown

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 USD  or more

     

  • More Music by Pop Unknown

1.
it's as if you've taken everything. and turned it into this. something no one here can translate for you. maybe if i had a clue. of what to do with you. i'd make it better for you somehow. one step back. you've faded off again. falling down and losing insight. one step back. you've faded off again. crashing down into a new life. when she walks into a room. coming back for more. everyone around is watching. standing tall she's got a view. eyeing everyone. making sure she finds a new one. what's been said and done is over now. so let's just let it be. going over things inside of you. what's inside of me. breaking out into a new life. a new found end to this. something both of us can cling to now. one step better. one step closer to the end
2.
in forty-five. i'll come back for the pieces. you won't have to compromise. you won't have to pay the price. and with that in mind. i'd throw it all away. forever is a long time. you know it won't come easily. and with a forty-five. i'll come back here on my own. to find you waiting here for me. so nice. you've been waiting there for me. so nice. and with that in mind. i'll take you far away. somewhere for a long time. never looking back again. get up and go there. cause i'll be right there for you. i miss you beautiful. and i can taste your kiss. something tells me. i may never see you here again
3.
An Offering 05:32
trip to find an offering. you're all i know. some familiar faces
4.
Last To Know 02:36
i found out. that you won't be coming home. i found out. that now i'll be all alone. she's taken from me a bit of myself. something that you'll never know. she may never understand. why i conduct myself like this. but that's just how it goes. but now that i'm bigger. i'll withstand the fall. i've been let down. and been taken. and recognize the amount of time. that i wasted. and can't take back. i've been shut down. and thrown around. and don't know what to do. without doing it with downcast eyes
5.
wake me. before i slip too far. and fall off in to nowhere land. please tell me. if it's possible for me. to feel the way i do right now. it's crucial now. it's happening again. i'm torn by all that's new to me. i'm lonely now. but not alone somehow. she's right here with me. i'm still living in circles. and i'll catch me again. i'll go on living in circles. until i catch me again. here i go again. someday. i'll make it up to you. i can see us flying high. please let me know if it's possible. for you and i to fly
6.
rearrange the world for me. and i can see just how. things just might get better for you. take it all away from me. and i can see just how. your world is the same as everyone else's. you're a barrel of laughs now. but there's something going down. now it seems too funny to save face. stop now. mental breakthrough. cause for. full blown knock down. go on. make it happen. you just might. save us all. i want some of the middle. everybody wants something they can't have. i want it anyway. one step closer
7.
Fallen Star 05:21
star has fallen. way too soon for you. to see it. you can't reach it. fallen star. it's forever. you can't see it. you're forever
8.
conversations we once had. have opened up a world of insight. i know i can't be there for you now. i want to be there for you now. you're such a beautiful prize along the way. i want to be there for you now. situations take us back. and open up a world of insight. you've got me hanging on a thread. you're perfect in a strange and toxic way
9.
right now. i want to be with you. where are you now. hope your world is easy for you. way down. i can still taste your kiss. it's so beautiful. we've only just begun. somehow. you've made me feel this way. it's so funny how. my whole world is made up for you. somebody better put me back down. somebody put me down
10.
Oh Kay 04:34
hush now. don't you cry. i'll be right here with you all the way. i'll catch up with you up there. someday. i beg for you now. as you fall into nothing. all the way. hold your head high. as you fall into nothing. hold my hand. as you slip away. i beg for you now. as you fall into nothing. always. and i'm better. better now that you've gone home
11.
Instrumental
12.

about

Pop Unknown presents textures and tones on If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra that will make you go weak at the knees. Everything fits so well, it's more than you hoped for. "One of the best records to come out in a very long time, for any label" says Rocket Fuel. Immaculately constructed pop songs with tranquilizing melodies and chiming guitars lines. A power-chord workout with a driving rhythm section that conveys passion and reminds us how good it feels to sing along. Dreamo. (DER-382)

"Pop Unknown breathes life into their music with an unrelentless pursuit of emotion and care into the songs that they create. "If Arsenic Fails..." is the documentary. The band gave a sample of their talents with the 1999 EP "Summer Season Kills," and five songs was all it took to get hooked into their beautiful melodies and solid noisy guitar constructions, creating a comfortable balance. With "If Arsenic Fails...," the band takes eleven songs to dig deeper into expressionism and pull out a collection of intimate tunes. The lyrics melt in the air, allowing anyone to walk away with something meaningful. Lasater takes elements of Paul Westerberg's Replacements days minus the Reaganism, the feeling of My Bloody Valentine or The Church and the most important aspect - experience - and creates a sincerity not heard in many pop-rock bands. The words take you inside his mind and lets you experience love's conflicts, introspection and life itself. Pop Unknown plays '80s-style pop in a '90s post-hardcore world. The band is most dominant playing delicate lullabies. "An Offering," conveys this with Casper Eckol's bass keeping the song moving forward. The bottom drops out and leaves you weightless. "Lonely Here With Me" is equally as sobering. The band makes a final note with the ending instrumental "Forward=Rewind," a soft farewell that leaves you one step closer and one step farther from the truth. There is a lot to take in, and the best way to experience this album is to dim the lights, relax and listen." - Consumable

"Beautiful, just beautiful. I had high expectations of 'If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra" and halfway through the first listen everything about this record just seemed perfect. Eleven tracks of spellbinding pop music from POP UNKNOWN. Pop music that is layered with warm guitars, rolling basslines and solid drumming. Those elements of rock from their first record can still be heard shining through these songs. Since then an extra guitarist has been added and the blend of three guitars in music like this makes it at times fascinating, as they manage to create incredible depth and energy in their music without resonating to either power or speed to create it. I could listen to tracks like 'Hanging on a Thread,' 'Half of Ninety' and 'Lonely Here With Me' over and over again, such is their passion and beauty. If you enjoyed POP UNKNOWN's 'Summer Season Kills' EP, make it your mission to pick this one up. An excellent and timeless record." - Fracture

www.deepelm.com/popunknown

credits

released November 9, 1999

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Deep Elm Records

With nearly 280 releases in its catalog, fiercely independent Deep Elm Records continues to build a better label - one that operates for glory, not gold. Deep Elm is about bands and fans coming together as one and experiencing music's awesome ability to inspire, comfort and console. We're not just making music together, we're making history. Dream / Create / Record / Release - Now for 27 Years. ... more

contact / help

Contact Deep Elm Records

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra, you may also like: