{"id":3737,"date":"2025-04-22T16:41:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T16:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/?p=3737"},"modified":"2025-04-30T10:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T10:21:08","slug":"poptropicaslutz-are-reinventing-gen-z-alt-pop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/poptropicaslutz-are-reinventing-gen-z-alt-pop\/","title":{"rendered":"poptropicaslutz! Are Reinventing Gen Z Alt-Pop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img src=\"https:\/\/assets.rebelmouse.io\/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy82MDAxMjI0My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTc4NTcwODE3NH0.nFKOq8ff_pGzHIFK6eedeP6Bq8o-XM-DQNWJbyqjFkY\/img.jpg?width=4000&amp;height=3000&amp;coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/poptropicaslutz\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">poptropicaslutz! <\/a>aren\u2019t fresh to the scene, but their new sounds are. The duo, Nick Crawford and Christian Cicilia, have multiple projects and tours under their belt, but their single \u201cmdma keeps the doctor away\u201d from their sophomore LP, <em>the new 925 <\/em><em><\/em>is reigning in a new era. The piano intro on \u201cmdma\u201d fakes out listeners, easing them into what becomes a speedy, rap-heavy track that you might hear while shifting <em>Grand Theft Auto<\/em> radio stations. The song fuses Fall Out Boy-esque vocal delivery with glitchy production not dissimilar to that of their contemporaries, Glaive or 2Hollis.<\/p>\n<p>The Long Island-born, LA-based duo set out to \u201ckill the old poptropicaslutz\u201d with this project. They\u2019re retiring the hyperpop-inspired, punk guitars found on their previous releases <em><em>Face For The Radio, Voice for A Silent Film<\/em><\/em>, and <em><em>just in case the world ends<\/em><\/em>, for harsher, sexier SoundCloud-era beats. They want fans to know that their back catalog is just music, but <em><em>the new 925<\/em><\/em> is an entirely new world. <\/p>\n<p>Follow-up singles \u201cit boy\u201d and \u201ctryna get that Kate Moss 2025\u201d build upon the landscape established on \u201cmdma.\u201d They each play into the band\u2019s signature feelings of 2000s nostalgia, leaning heavily into the modern indie-sleazification of electronic and hip-hop scenes.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"54d97ffe3f95b18e319b6597bbfb8f4c\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%\"><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"poptropicaslutz! - mdma keeps the doctor away (official video)\" width=\"920\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Po0qHR2NerE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The video for \u201cmdma\u201d shows the boys trapped in a giant glass box, filling with smoke. They flash in and out of <em>Donnie Darko<\/em> blue hues, wearing zip-up hoodies and fitted tees. They look like the best friend\u2019s hot older brothers from a good 2000s teen flick. Their nonchalance penetrates the screen, even when they\u2019re joined in the box by a gaggle of girls.<\/p>\n<p>The song tells the story of a sex worker, Alice, and her boss\u2019 infatuation with her. It\u2019s just one piece of the narrative puzzle promised on <em>the new 925<\/em>. Lyrics from the song bless the screen throughout the video, enticing listeners to join them in the story they\u2019re weaving: \u201cTry it, you might love it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>PAPER <\/em>caught up with poptropicaslutz! To discuss \u201cmdma,\u201d <em>the new 925<\/em> and the band\u2019s values for world-building.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><img alt=\"\" class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"8e4960daba4fbfc1faba53cd5d20717e\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" id=\"0c185\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img-92.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><img alt=\"\" class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"d82786b0f0b9f0f40b554dd9e7b8cb97\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" id=\"148fe\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img-93.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><img alt=\"\" class=\"rm-shortcode\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"7d78e5734674e34b7435e0d5756ebafb\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" id=\"c16f9\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img-94.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>What was the inspiration behind &#8220;mdma&#8221;?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The song came about on tour in the dingiest hotel room we\u2019ve ever seen. They gave us a smoking room even though we begged them not to. It felt right for us to make a song about something that presents as glamorous on the surface, but in reality has a not-so-desirable underbelly. So we wrote &#8220;mdma&#8221; about an escort running away from that life. It was a silver lining.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you translate the song into the video?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We built an eight-foot-tall glass box and portrayed a bunch of people as anonymous silhouettes trapped inside. It was kinda like the zoo, but more lit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What were some challenges or highlights from creating the video?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Building the gigantic box took 24 hours of work and we were underprepared. But we got to shoot the video in the midst of our house party, asking a bunch of people we didn\u2019t know to \u201cget in the box,\u201d and then proceeding to suffocate them with fog and yell at them to dance.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you hope fans feel when they hear your new album, <\/strong><em><strong>the new 925<\/strong><\/em><strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Awe-inspired, like they just fell into Narnia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What track are you most excited for fans to hear live?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A track called \u201ceverynight.\u201d It feels like the end of a dream right before you wake up. The instrumentation and vocals are super ethereal, which will both be enhanced in our live setting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s up next for you? Anything you&#8217;re excited to be working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We want to complete the sensory profile for <em>the new 925<\/em>. Expect vinyl so you can touch the album, candles so you can smell the album, and<em> 925<\/em> desserts so you can taste how sweet it is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anything else you want to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This one\u2019s the debut. Everything else was just us making music.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><em>Photography: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/max.dur\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Max Durante<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>poptropicaslutz! aren\u2019t fresh to the scene, but their new sounds are. The duo, Nick Crawford and Christian Cicilia, have multiple projects and tours under their belt, but their single \u201cmdma<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/poptropicaslutz-are-reinventing-gen-z-alt-pop\/\" class=\"readmore\">Continue reading<svg class=\"icon icon-arrow-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\"> <use href=\"#icon-arrow-right\" xlink:href=\"#icon-arrow-right\"><\/use> <\/svg><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">poptropicaslutz! Are Reinventing Gen Z Alt-Pop<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3737"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3737"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3744,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3737\/revisions\/3744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}