Poppy’s new album, Empty Hands, is a great addition to her discography, building her reputation as a creative artist.

Poppy is known for her genre-blending sound and her inability to make only one kind of music. Moving from mainstream pop to metal, she introduces new sounds with each new album. Empty Hands follows the trend and has a wide range of sounds, from futuristic and robotic sounding through punk, metalcore, and more. 

The lyrics are arguably her most emotionally charged, which makes the whole album laced with a sense of heaviness. Though the album covers themes like romantic grief, the anger is the main substance point, without being too edgy. 

It opens with the dramatic, futuristic sounding “Public Domain,” one of the best songs on the album. The song is catchy and has a great chorus, setting a good impression for the rest of the album.

“The Wait,’ is interesting to listen to, with the verses having a more alt-pop sound while the chorus presents a lighter version of typical metalcore music, with a slightly heavier sounding bridge to tie the track together. Though there are many sounds to blend, it flows nicely and feels cohesive.

With every song, Poppy’s voice is the main focus. At the blink of an eye, she goes from a polished alto voice to a lower register with typical metal screams. The ease with which she switches between the sounds is impressive. 

While most of the songs sound good, one negative point is they tend to sound repetitive. There are a lot of new genre-blending sounds, but many of the songs shift into something too similar sounding, especially in the choruses. Overall, Empty Hands builds is an emotionally charged project that expands upon the artistic profile that Poppy is building for herself.