Pup - The Dream is Over (LP)

PUP was in a fairly darker than usual place during the writing of their sophomore LP “The Dream Is Over.” After a string of tours being 250 dates total in 2014, PUP was exhausted and on the brink of breaking up. Vocalist Stefan Babcock had totally exhausted his voice to the point of developing a hemorrhaging cyst on his vocal cords where the doctor allegedly told Stefan, “The dream is over.” They needed a breakthrough. Instead, they had a breakdown. Embracing the misery, PUP pulled together an album somehow more vicious, mature and cathartic. The music videos released for this album were also incredible, namely “Old Wounds," an intricate choose-your-own-adventure game through YouTube links.

When PUP set out to release their first studio album, they shared demos with as many labels and producers as they could get a deal. They managed to strike big when SideOneDummy Records and producer Dave Schiffman (Rage Against the Machine, Weezer, Anti-Flag) took notice of them. Schiffman listened to their demos but wasn’t totally convinced until he saw their live show in Montreal. After witnessing the band’s energy and chemistry cultivated from years of friendship (quite literally, the band had been friends since elementary), Schiffman decided he had to capture this band in a studio. The result was PUP’s self-titled release in 2013 that went almost entirely unnoticed outside of a few indie publications like Noisey and Consequence of Sound. But the band set out on a grueling set of tours through 2014 that tallied up to 250 dates that would capture the attention they so desperately worked to earn. Oh, and the sick music videos helped too.

Tracklist:

1. ​​If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will
2. DVP
3. Doubts
4. Sleep in the Heat
5. The Coast
6. Old Wounds
7. My Life Is Over and I Couldn't Be Happier
8. Can't Win
9. Familiar Patterns
10. Pine Point