This has probably been my greatest and most cringeworthy find of this entire year. Outside of Fartbarf. The one and only PPL MVR are three dudes dressed up in primitive Chewbacca-esque outfits, playing hard rock and constantly tweaking with autotune. They came out of nowhere from a planet far far away and are making people question their sanity. They only have one self-titled EP out currently, which came out this past April.
PPL MVR have been marking their territory all along the states and were even at Sundance this year. Including band members by the name of, K-PO, Q AND SNWBLL. There is a new trend starting with many bands where they were primitive masks and costumes, but play modern or for lack of a better word, “futuristic” music. Many people love not only the paradox of those worlds clashing, but the anonymity of the musicians themselves. You keep going back to the music in hopes of maybe finding out who the masked magicians might be.
People Mover
The opener to their EP, “People Mover” is a heart thumping heavy rock song with vocals that sound like they have been put through a vocoder. It has everything you could want with a song. A good hook, head banging riff, and tension. This tune sounds like something Jack White, the Willy Wonka of music would have produced in his time off just for the sake of having fun and hearing some beefy guitars that aren’t his. Making this the opener promptly catches the attention of the listener and sets them up, and makes them ready for the rest of the EP.
Mad
I am typically a hater of excessive amounts of autotune, just like anybody else. This song in particular is exceptionally heavy with it, yet it does not takes away from it. They use the autotune as a tool, rather than as something to tweak and fix in their voices. It gives them a very high pitched alien type sound, and then they transition to a more guttural and deep voice. The song then rapidly turns into sounding like an angsty 90’s grunge song. This is a tune that I could most definitely see Dave Grohl blasting in his house, rocking the f**k out, dancing and making obscene movements on every square inch.
Annie
Just by the name you know it’s going to be that one really soothing and serene song that doesn’t exactly make sense, but it fits in somehow. Making references to kitty cats and all things happy and dream like. Once again the autotune used in the song was more of a tool to enhance the overall theme and vibe of the song, rather than take away from the vocals. The auto tune calms the voice down and makes it softer, but is still a little rough around the edges. It’s a great groove that can be played in pretty much any kind of social situation that you are in.
Day of the Dead
Already by the name of the song I knew that I would absolutely love it. This song is still calm, but in the sense that it keeps a very consistent beat throughout the whole groove, and never veers off too much to show off any flashy guitars. It has a really nice steady drum that can keep your shoulders bouncing, and vocal styles that even parallel Kanye West style vocals. Towards the end they begin to mix up the drum beat and get a bit more frisky with the guitar. I like this song, because it shows that the band does not need different flashy tricks in order for them to think that they sound good. If you have one good beat, where you can find the music within it, and have lyrics that match it, then in my opinion you have truly mastered songwriting.
Let’s Take This Outside
The last song, like the first one brings us back to a more upbeat and heavy sound. With guitars that I can only imagine the person playing had to have been swinging back and forth, while jumping off the walls. The drum beat makes me want to do backflips off the kit, and the vocals are slightly seductive and menacing. The song is quick and to the point, sort of like a punk song, but without being quite as fast-paced. The energy is restored with this song, and it’s their final couple of minutes to show you who they are and what their music is all about.
Bella Elbaum is a Los Angeles based writer and music enthusiast. You can follow her on Twitter