Canadian punk-powerhouse PUP has released their first single of the year, “Anaphylaxis,” along with a complimentary claymated music video.
The humorous song explores a story from the perspective of a hypochondriac in this chaotic time where everybody on the planet is over-assessing how they’re feeling in light of a pandemic.
“I got the idea for the song when I was at my partner’s cottage and her cousin got stung by a bee and his whole head started to swell up,” says vocalist Stefan Babcock. “His wife, although she was concerned, also thought it was pretty hilarious and started making fun of him even as they were headed to the hospital. He ended up being totally fine, but it was just funny to watch him freaking out and her just lighting him up at the same time. It reminded me of all the times I’ve started panicking for whatever reason and was convinced I was dying and the world was ending and no one would take me seriously. In retrospect, I always find those overreactions pretty funny. So we wrote a goofy song about being a hypochondriac and tried to make our guitars sound like bees at the beginning of it.”
The band’s last LP, Morbid Stuff, was their most successful yet, following two other groundbreaking releases. They’re on track to become one of Canada’s all-time best punk acts.