Existential dread never sounded more joyful or uplifting than it does in the hands of PUP. Across its catalog of albums, like the appropriately titled Morbid Stuff or The Dream is Over, the Canadian pop-punk group confronts world-weary discontent with deadpan humor, hard-earned wisdom and a lot of heart.
For the group’s long-overdue Tiny Desk, PUP (an acronym for Pathetic Use of Potential) rips through five songs, opening with the restlessly hooky “Morbid Stuff,” followed by “Robot Writes a Love Song,” from 2022’s The Unraveling of PUPTheBand, and “Hallways,” a driving anthem about staying alive in the face of struggle, if only to take care of your dog.
Outside of the songs, frontman Stefan Babcock doesn’t say a word during the set, but beams playfully through much of it, even after he sings, “I’ve been navigating my way through the mind-numbing reality of a godless existence,” from the 2019 track “Kids.” The band closes with the pop-leaning “Hunger for Death,” from PUP’s latest album, Who Will Look After the Dogs? Trying hard not to break character, Babcock leans in with, “F*** everyone in this office,” before adding, “especially me.”
SET LIST
- “Morbid Stuff”
- “Robot Writes a Love Song”
- “Hallways”
- “Kids”
- “Hunger for Death”
MUSICIANS
- Stefan Babcock: vocals, guitar, keys
- Steve Sladkowski: guitar, background vocals
- Nestor Chumak: bass, background vocals
- Zack Mykula: drums, background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dhanika Pineda
- Photographer: Grace Raver
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins