I didn’t expect to love “Komusō” this much, but I ended up playing Death Popsicle’s debut EP every night this past week. There’s a lot to take in these 5 tracks, and the more I listened, the more I appreciated how much work has gone into the sound. Death Popsicle has a strong style here, mixing dark electronic sounds with great synth work, raw vocals and those unexpected rap lines. I really liked the rap parts because they bring a different kind of energy into the songs and keep the EP moving. The synths are one of the best parts for me too. They sound clean, controlled and well placed, while the polished sound design gives the whole record its darker character.
The production is professional and the mixing is on point, but the performances still have some roughness to them, which I think works well for this kind of music. His voice has a lot of character and he delivers the lyrics with enough emotion to make the darker themes around isolation, disconnection and emotional survival connect without spelling everything out. There are some haunting melodies here, good lyrics and many small details that made me want to hear the tracks again and again. I honestly loved listening to this album this week. It’s a well-crafted debut and Death Popsicle has already given me a good reason to pay attention to whatever comes next. This is definitely an artist to watch and I mean that sincerely.
