E. Grizzly memorializes a close friend on Felipe Pupo

Philly’s E. Grizzly is no stranger to expressing anger through his music, but on new album Felipe Pupo, he’s got a lot more of it to go around. The album was initially conceived as a punk/reggaeton collaboration with friend and musician Jason Pupo, but just as they were about to begin work on it, Pupo passed away. Grizzly was understandably distraught when a project that originated from a place of joy becomes a friend’s obituary, and he channeled that into the music.

The anger and sadness is reflected in the album’s bitter, unhinged vocal performances and hard-nosed beats. On paranoid opener “The 3rd Day”, he tries to come to terms with the ghosts of his past as they keep him up at night. This sense of paranoia carries over into highlight “Crabs in a Bucket” where he calls out anyone “talking shit behind [his] back”.Throughout the album, crunchy distorted guitars compliment these bursts of emotion and amplify them, but on closing track “Rest in Piece,” all of that is stripped away in favor of sentimental acoustic guitar.

There’s a ton of variety here, and it all comes together to create something Grizzly refers to “Synth Calypso Punk”. If that sounds like something that’s up your alley, Felipe Pupo is available now to stream and download via his Bandcamp.