''Zig'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

, released on October 27, 2023. The album was released through

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. Produced by

Ali Payami Ali Payami is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and DJ. Payami's first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was The Weeknd's single "Can't Feel My Face". In 2016, he won a Grammy for Album of the Year for his contributions on Taylor S ...

, the record marks the artist's return to pop music, and features a more industrial sound than her previous album, ''

Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications in physics. For transport phe ...

'' (2021).

Background

In a December 2022 interview with ''Revolver'', Poppy revealed that she was working on her fifth studio album. In March 2023, she announced a new single called "Church Outfit", which was released on April 4. The single marked her return to

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

for her fifth EP ''Stagger'' (2022). On July 19, 2023, Poppy released the single, "Knockoff", and announced the album, ''Zig'' for release on October 27, 2023. Following the announcement, the album was immediately made available for

pre-order A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...

. The album's tenth track, "Motorbike", was released as its third single on September 12 after being previously leaked online. "Hard" was released as its fourth and final single on October 20, with Poppy having performed it live prior. On December 1, she released a music video for "Flicker", the fifth track on the album.

Recording and composition

Poppy made over 40 songs for ''Zig'', though just 11 made the final tracklist. She primarily worked with

Simon Wilcox Simon Wilcox is a Canadian poet and songwriter, based in Los Angeles, California. Her songs have been recorded and released by Blink 182, Britney Spears, Carly Rae Jepsen, Enrique Iglesias, Miranda Lambert, The Used, Nick Jonas, Camila Cabello, ...

and

, the latter of whom produced every track from the album. The songwriting was organized into four different journals, based on the idea of the song. Poppy said of the album's conception, "I'll come in with a skeleton and we piece it together. I feel the need to make sense of my own code, in an effort to understand myself." She also performed the guitar and bass on the album. The album has been labeled as

dark pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes ...

, industrial-

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

alternative pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

, and "dark"

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

. "Linger" has been described by ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

'' to be a '

goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...

ballad' song, comparing it to

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

' 2004 single "

Everytime "Everytime" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'' (2003). It was released as the third single from ''In the Zone'' on May 10, 2004, by Jive Records. After her relationship with Justin Timber ...

". ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

'' described the tenth track "Motorbike" as "sheer

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, th ...

", whereas

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.

Critical reception

''Zig'' received generally positive reviews. On Metacritic, the album received a score of 68 out of 100 based on five reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Critics were positive towards the album's focus on

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

and Poppy's return to

, whereas criticism was aimed at the album's predictability and lack of heavier sounds that were present on Poppy's previous records. In a positive review, Neil Z. Yeung of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called ''Zig'' Poppy's most "mature work to date" stating, "she lays the viscera on the table, opening herself up like never before and showcasing her most human moments yet." Ali Shutler of '' Dork'' wrote, "There's rage, empowerment, peace and giddy joy as Poppy once again shakes things up." Tiana Speter of ''Hysteria mag'' was positive towards the album stating, "For fans of Poppy's 2020 savagery ''

I Disagree ''I Disagree'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Poppy. It was released on January 10, 2020, as her first album with Sumerian Records following her departure from Mad Decent, as well as her final collaborative project with ...

'' or 2021's

alt-rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

pastiche ''Flux'', ''Zig'' is certainly an entirely new era for the chameleonic artist...the electro-dance elements fused to ''Zig''s spine proves that Poppy can write a pop song or dazzle with vulnerability like nobody's business – and still scream like a prismatic banshee should the occasion call for it." Luke Morton writing for ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' praised the sound of the album stating, "Such polished production courses through veins of ''Zig''...as the genre-muddling star incorporates elements of industrial,

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

and

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

amongst the record's heavier junctures." Since ''Zig'' is, for the most part, a departure from

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and metal sound of her recent work, Lisa Wright of ''The Forty-Five'' felt that the album was "a little unexciting" when including how Poppy "left jaws on the floor with her initial metal reinvention". Vicky Greer of ''Louder Sound'' had a similar opinion stating, "''Zig'' ushers in Poppy's 'dark-pop' phase, but the thrilling extremity of her best work is missed here." Danni Leivers writing for ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' was positive about the album's sound stating, "There's a lot of ground covered here, but ''Zig'' never feels random or messy. Poppy...views eralbums as 'timestamps' of her life and for that reason, her genre-bending feels less like an artist following trends...more an avid consumer of art, exploring her influences and making music by her own rules. Steve Erickson of ''

Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non- objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant ...

'' was less positive and feeling that on ''Zig'', "Poppy has become what she's successfully evaded up to this point: predictable." Sputnikmusic had a similar conclusion to that of ''The Forty-Five'' and ''Louder Sound'' stating, "Poppy seems to be restrained here – as if something is holding her back from embracing her typically wild and unconventional whims." Kayla Hamilton of ''Wall of Sound'' was more positive towards the album stating, "Poppy is growing musically, but she is also growing personally. ''Zig'' is proof of that."

Year-end lists

Promotion

In 2023, Poppy and

Pvris Pvris (pronounced "Paris" and stylized PVRIS) is an American pop rock band formed in Lowell, Massachusetts in 2012. Following several lineup changes, the band is now composed solely of frontwoman Lynn Gunn. Pvris has released four studio LPs: ...

co-headlined the Godless/Goddess Tour. In September 2023, Poppy announced that she would be embarking on the 2024

Zig Tour Since her first performance in 2011, American singer-songwriter Poppy has headlined seven concert tours. Poppy's first touring experience was as the opening act for Dumblonde's eponymous tour in 2015, where she performed four dates on the West C ...

to support the album, revealing UK dates for February. On the same day, she was revealed as a support act for the

Bad Omens Bad Omens is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 2015 by vocalist and producer Noah Sebastian, guitarist Nicholas Ruffilo, and bassist Vincent Riquier. The band was later joined by guitarist and pr ...

tour Concrete Forever. In November, Poppy was announced as a support act for

Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Let ...

' 2024 world tour in the United States.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, guitars, bass *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

– mastering *

Zakk Cervini Zachary Joseph Cervini (born June 2, 1993) is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. Cervini's work includes collaborations with Simple Plan, Limp Bizkit, Blink-182, All Time Low, Machine Gun Kelly, Yungbl ...

– mixing * Nik Trekov – mixing assistance * Le3ay – photography * Sean Douglas – additional instrumentation *

Ian Kirkpatrick Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Described as "supremely athletic, fast, fearless and with an uncanny sense of anticipation", Kirkpatrick is widely regarded as one of the greatest flankers ...

– additional instrumentation * Jocke Berg – additional instrumentation * Lara Andersson – additional instrumentation * Ralph Alexander – additional instrumentation * Denis Kosiak – additional instrumentation *

– additional instrumentation

Charts

Release history

References

{{Poppy 2023 albums Poppy (singer) albums Albums produced by Ali Payami Pop albums by American artists Sumerian Records albums