Beginning 2020 off of successful tours for your debut album, with a few new songs ready to be played live must have felt like the perfect time before having everything hit pause. This would put any band in an exhausting position, but post an unannounced hiatus, Indoor Pets are a band that has evolved and changed their sound, while still managing to keep their identity. Returning to Alcopop! Records, Pathetic Apathetic is an evolution in their sound, with their influences from the garage and surf influenced mid 10’s indie scene fading to be replaced by a love of big riffs, hardcore and d-beats, almost mirroring the moves Turnstile have been making with their recent output.
Singles ‘London (Love to Hate)’ and ‘Dopamine Girls’ tackle the fall of London as a comfortable place for working class people and the intense overpowering nature romance can become respectively, with lead singer Jamie Glass’s signature vocals being paired with heavier riffs, songwriting and guitar tones. Gone are the loose, hard to pin down euphemisms of their early work, with lyrics more literal yet keeping the same metaphorical edge. There is a more serious tone lyrically, whether that’s political (‘Dying by the living wage, Trying to repress my rage’) or pseudo seductive (‘Hey, what’s your blood type?/We can do this all night, I’ve got nowhere to be’), with some of the same self depreciation (‘I’m one-part Casanova, and two parts clinically insane.’)
Despite the new emphasis of heaviness on the album as the main focus, there are more moments of light and shade on the album. There is some “studio as an instrument” type experimentation in the vein of Stereolab, whether it’s through samples or sound manipulation. Late album track ‘Litmus Paper’ takes its cues from Imogen Heap and Laurie Anderson. Such a heavy emphasis on an exclusively vocoder and drum machine track is a confident move that pays off.
Title track ‘Pathetic Apathetic’ starts with a bludgeoning d beat and doesn’t let up. Even when a chorus hits, instead of providing some pop sensibility let up on previous tracks, it feels like just an excuse to add a blast beat, before crashing into a more doomy, creating a sound that’d be just as comfortable at any of the indie festivals in the UK as well as the more melodic punk side of Outbreak. Their old sound breaks through more on ‘Recklessly’ and ‘Fidget Panic Restless Static’, but it’s done with a renewed confidence. Having songs that harken back to your previous sound while surrounded by obvious clues of what’s next for the band.
Changing your sound as a band is a tricky artistic endeavor, and a challenge if you’re not wanting to alienate your fans. Doing it after a long hiatus with little to no touring is an even bigger ask. Even sans this context, Indoor Pets have created a confident collection of songs with influences spanning from indie to hardcore, to some classic Black Sabbath-esque heaviness.