Poppy‘s new album, Empty Hands, is out now. Coming off 2024’s Negative Spaces, which spawned the singles “new way out” and the “cost of giving up,” Empty Hands finds Poppy continuing to push the boundaries of her sound, jumping in between different styles and genres from song to song, and often within the same track.
“I like the album to feel like an emotional roller coaster full of highs and lows and in-betweens,” Poppy tells ABC Audio. “It might mean something different to somebody else, but for me, I like the push and the pull and the up and the down and the sideways.”
One thing that stays consistent throughout Empty Hands is Poppy’s continued use of bodily language – you’ll hear multiple mentions of ribs, lungs, eyes and hands. Even a more metaphorical song like “Bruised Sky” takes on a more physical connotation thanks to the word “bruised.”
“I find myself to be a pretty body aware person,” Poppy says. “I’m interested by the way the body responds to external stresses and stimuli, and viewing it as if I’m laying down and I’m looking at my body from across the room.”
Along with naming the album Empty Hands, a phrase that pops up in its closing title track, Poppy sings the lyric, “My idle hands will let you drown,” on the song “Dying to Forget.”
“I witness a lot of things that I let play out by themselves and I don’t wanna intervene,” Poppy says. “And then some other situations, I decide to intervene when I’m strong and passionate about them.”
Meanwhile, on the grungy “Eat the Hate,” Poppy declares she’ll do just that.
“There’s a lot of noise out there in the world,” she says. “And it shouldn’t be confused for truth and repetition for reality.”
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