You may know Pope as one of the projects formed by Donovan Wolfington’s two lead vocalists (the other being PHONY), though the New Orleans trio has certainly developed their own unique personality outside of DW’s shadow over the past decade-plus. Across an EP and two albums, Pope (also a two-vocalist group) evolved from lo-fi textures and a slacker-grunge persona into a cleaner sound adorned by more mature lyrics. On the heels of two more EPs released over the past five years, they’re now returning with their third album, BFM (that’s “Big Fucking Music”), which sees the group continue to balance grunge riffs and breezier elements of power-pop while tackling some of their most difficult lyrical themes.
Such is the case with the record’s second single, “Make You Feel,” which sees vocalist Matthew Seferian process the shock of losing a longtime friend as he balances the crushing sense of loss against the comfort he found in the community that helped him through it. “‘Make You Feel’ is really two feelings in one song,” he explains of the dual responses to grief addressed in the thrumming, slow-burn tune. “It was so fast and so confusing that I was having a hard time processing it through my normal channels or past experiences with grief. It’s also about community to me; how people can be so entrenched in your present and past lives.”
Check out the new track below, and pre-order BFM here ahead of its April 30 release via Rite Field Records.
