PUP - Who Will Look After The Dogs? (Album Review)

Photo: Vanessa Heins

Indie-punks PUP can seem like the ultimate dysfunctional family bound by proximity and complementary neuroses. Following 2022’s ‘The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND’ there were a series of shifts in their world that suggested a balancing out — guitarist Steve Sladkowski got married, bassist Nestor Chumak became a dad, and drummer Zack Mykula moved away. For a band who thrive on being at each other’s throats in a creative sense, the idea of any of them settling down could spell the death knell.

But there’s always something lurking around a corner. Vocalist Stefan Babcock ended a decade-long relationship, cut himself off from his bandmates, and wrote more than 30 songs in a year. The result is ‘Who Will Look After The Dogs?’, a cathartic gut-punch of a fifth album that drags Babcock away from youthful naivety and self-loathing towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

Opener No Hope wastes no time, loading up like vintage PUP ripped straight from their ‘The Dream Is Over’-era with fuzzed-up guitars and Babcock's quickfire vocals.

What follows is a near-perfect distillation of their career to date, with tracks such as Get Dumber (featuring Jeff Rosenstock) combining gnarly riffs with ground-and-pound gang vocals that’ll have you air-guitaring around your bedroom like it's a sweaty club show.

The album's beating heart reveals itself in moments like Hallways, which offers pure slacker-rock soaked in sweet harmonies as Babcock confronts post-breakup collapse with disarming candour: "When one door closes, it might never open / there might be no other doors." This emotional core gives weight to the album's exploration of relationships, whether that’s with lovers, bandmates, or most ruthlessly, with oneself.

What's refreshing is PUP’s continued thirst for adventure following ‘The Unraveling Of PUPTHEBAND’. Concrete and Needed To Hear It lean into dreamier indie-rock territory, while Paranoid blends garage-rock swagger with metallic fuzz. Throughout, there's a palpable sense that they are genuinely enjoying themselves for once, despite the often-bitter lyrical content.

By closer Shut Up, Babcock emerges from the darkness into something approaching acceptance, having created a record that works as both a definitive statement of PUP’s sound and a tantalising glimpse of new directions. It seems that even as they excavate their demons, these dogs still have plenty of life left in them.

Pup Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:

Thu May 08 2025 - LEEDS Project House
Sat May 10 2025 - MANCHESTER O2 Ritz
Sun May 11 2025 - GLASGOW SWG3
Mon May 12 2025 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Newcastle University Students Union
Tue May 13 2025 - BRISTOL Marble Factory
Thu May 15 2025 - SOUTHAMPTON Enginerooms
Fri May 16 2025 - LONDON O2 Forum Kentish Town

Compare & Buy Pup Tickets at Stereoboard.com.

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