Reforming at the behest of The Simpson’s creator Matt Groening for All Tomorrow’s Parties, The Pop Group maintained close contact throughout their three decade long sabbatical. “We were mates before the band,” says Stewart. “Bristol is a small place, you can’t really get away from each other.” The lads decided to put out some reissues and Stewart thought, “If we are going to put some old stuff out again, we should put some new stuff out for our own sanity. Then suddenly I got this phone call from Matt Groening asking us to play ATP.” Everything seemed to align in kismet, with Stewart musing; “Now days there’s lots of cool people from our generation in positions of power who can make things happen. It’s not really them and us anymore, there are secret Pop Group fans all over the world.”
Known for pushing boundaries, The Pop Group act as critical response to the world of digital sleepwalking. Whether referencing Hermetic thought, or the Situationists, the band always strived to be an explosion in the heart of the commodity. The aim is to exist within the system as an actual pop group while subverting the principles associated with mainstream culture. In the post-Thatcher conservative government of England, these ideals are still as relevant as ever. Change is in our hands, Stewart reflects, “We are building our own structures. In the beginning when we helped build Rough Trade, I fought for these independent rights. To not be under the whip of capital: to not be censored. I don’t want to be one of those holier-than-thou experimental bands though; people will engage with the beast; but The Pop Group acts as an antidote. If the Dolls hadn’t played in England when we were young I’d still be working in a factory.”
Title track Citizen Zombie attacks these societal paradigms. “Taste is a form of personal censorship,” Stewart explains. “You should question why you’re deciding to do something because it may be the construct or conditioning you’ve got.” To reject that conditioning is of paramount importance. “We are living in a digital cave”, says Stewart. “The more people are zoning out to their screens, the less they are interacting and arguing with each other. It’s important to keep yourself on your toes and do mental agility tests: to ask yourself what you want and why you want it. Politics begins in yourself; no matter how cool or edgy you think you are, you have to keep mentally fit and agile and keep aware of other things happening in the world. Humans need to be involved with what’s happening on our planet. It’s humanity, not politics.”
Stewart upholds the notion that music has the power to create change within a society. The song Mad Truth reflects this sentiment, a bouncy disco bop that acts like a call to arms to mankind, encouraging us all to stand up for what we believe in. “Music is an energy and nutrient,” states Stewart. “It gives you energy. Sometimes you can feel the atoms – we are alive.” Other parts of the record are broody and atmospheric, twinkling with soft sentimentality. Nowhere Girl was influenced by a wave of music called Isolationism; it echoes through subtle tomes, layered to create a cavernous dub effect. An excursion through light and shade, the record permeates with drama and emotion. Living in Berlin now, Stewart likens Citizen Zombie to the Turkish singers on TV there, so expressive of their art they almost cry while singing. “In England, men don’t get emotional,” reflects Stewart. “We are playing with those emotions.”
Sensation and risk are fundamentals of The Pop Group’s philosophy. Stewart employs a Dada-esque approach to his lyrics, tapping into the subconscious stream through chance procedures. Applying Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies to break normality, Stewart sees music as a doorway into the other: “How many times can I say, ‘I love you baby’? The rock catalogue is so limiting, it’s bizarre.” Through formulating an alchemical approach to songwriting, The Pop Group enters the realm of the other. Stewart understands that music can be a doorway with the potential to generate new modes of thinking. “Something happens, not through trying but it really happens with this band,” he says. “You shouldn’t try to bottle that stuff and trademark it. It comes from everyone and it’s free.”
BY CASSANDRA KIELY
