Parallel Play by Panama Wedding is the perfect example of what I call “popslop”. It brings out every single pop production trick in the book, to the point that all of the songs on this EP are functionally the same structure and length. On both “Uma” and “Trust”, the transition before the pre-chorus is the classic “drop out except for a drum hit”, and each one sounds slightly bigger than the previous one. The production is incredibly slick, with tiny little call-and-response synth lines and huge, poppy percussion. I put this on for inspiration all the time lately, and I’m always finding some new trick that I can apply in my own music.

And then there’s the lyrics. Here are the chorus and pre-chorus of “All of the People”:

I saved a little bit of money
I put it in the vault
Hidden behind the face on the red room wall
I took everything I wanted
I took everything I need
All in a day
Or maybe they just want me to leave

And all of the people
All of the people stand
Standing to wait
Waiting for the concrete to break
And all of the people
All of the people take
Take it away
You know maybe you just made me believe

Wat.

Clearly the songwriter, Peter Kirk, comes from the “voice as instrument” school of songwriting. As far as how the words themselves sound in the context of the song: they work wonderfully. They fit perfectly with the vibe. But they mean nothing, as far as I can tell. Little snippets of meaning, forming no greater whole.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing it that way. It allows this to fit into the pop genre while also not requiring that I thing about the vocals at all. Perfect background music; this might even work a little better if I were not an English speaker. I think you genuinely should check this out, because if nothing else, it’s an interesting juxtaposition.