Last year PUP leveled up with the release of Morbid Stuff, one of the best albums of 2019. Now the Canadian punks have returned with the new song, “Anaphylaxis”, and a wild claymation music video, to boot.
Medically, anaphylaxis is a severe or even life-threatening allergic reaction. But while you may experience a tingling sensation when these buzzing guitars kick in, that’s (probably) not a rash. With PUP’s typical sharp wit, “Anaphylaxis” is a giddy ode to hypochondriacs everywhere. Experiencing a racing heart and a swelling face, singer Stefan Babcock is left wondering “Was it the allergies/ Or something else freaking me out?” It’s a perfect paranoid anthem for the time of corona, and a great soundtrack for when you find yourself using one bottle of disinfectant to disinfect another.
In a statement, Babcock said that the song came from a very real — but apparently hilarious — allergic reaction.
“I got the idea for the song when I was at my partner’s cottage and her cousin got stung by a bee and his whole head started to swell up. His wife, although she was concerned, also thought it was pretty hilarious and started making fun of him even as they were headed to the hospital. He ended up being totally fine, but it was just funny to watch him freaking out and her just lighting him up at the same time. It reminded me of all the times I’ve started panicking for whatever reason and was convinced I was dying and the world was ending and no one would take me seriously. In retrospect, I always find those overreactions pretty funny. So we wrote a goofy song about being a hypochondriac and tried to make our guitars sound like bees at the beginning of it.”
The claymation music video was created by Callum Scott-Dyson, and begins with an unfortunate beehive/piñata mixup. From there, the bees plot their revenge. Check out “Anaphylaxis” below.
In December, PUP linked up with CBC Kids for a Christmas version of “Kids” performed alongside puppets. The rockers have rescheduled a few tour dates for October, and tickets are available here.