Album Review: Sports Boyfriend - Pop Psychology
By Haadiza Ogwude, Contributor
[Close to Modern; 2015]
Rating: 1.5/5
Key Tracks: “Pop Psychology
”Emerging Chicago-based artist Eileen Peltier released her first EP, Pop Psychology, under the moniker Sports Boyfriend. The four-track EP is surprisingly diverse, infusing Sports Boyfriend’s traditional electronic sound with pop and lo-fi guitar jams. However, the songs on the EP are slow and lagging, and the lo-fi texture of the music becomes dull and unfocused. Peltier’s vocals are overshadowed by the grainy quality of the music.
Opener “Pop Psychology” infuses typical electronic sounds with upbeat vocals; it’s one of the clearer and more enjoyable songs on the EP. “Waiting By the Phone” consists of low fidelity guitar strumming and muffled vocals. Surf and dream pop undertones help balance out the dullness of the vocals and redundancy of the beat. “I Don’t Care If You’re Alone” is very similar to “Waiting by the Phone” with its production and subdued vocals.
“Like I Left” is one of the more consistent tracks on the EP. However the tone sounds like the type of music you hear while shopping in a department store. The sound is very bland, and once again the song lacks a strong vocal presence.
Pop Psychology’s surf and dream pop sound help balance out the overarching dullness of the EP. However, the overshadowing lo-fi quality of the music and unrecognizable lyrics are too much to overlook. The songs are a mix of jumbled words and beats with no focus. Pop Psychology is chaotic at best.
