While PUP will be a straightforward punk band to many, to some -- like myself -- they'll always be an enigma. No matter what they play live, they kill it. But record-wise, sometimes they throw me for a curveball. It comes with the production and the mix. The aforementioned mostly lacks balance, while the latter oftentimes has me thinking they put tracks on that feel like B-sides. Well, come Who Will Look After The Dogs?, I'm back at square one with that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Is it a bad album? Nope, but it does feel a tad rickety and like maybe cutting a track or two would have helped the momentum better.

Now, I've loved their first three albums. I think Morbid Stuff is especially rad. But I don't think they've gone from strength to strength since. It's there in spurts, but I'd prefer consistency. This album emphasises those feelings. The opener, " No Hope," feels janky while the romantic jaunt in "Olive Garden," as lyrically fun as PUP usually is, has that garage-demo vibe to it. The same for "Get Dumber" with Jeff Rosenstock. There is the catchy, cynical and singalong signature of the band on "Concrete," but these tracks really don't set the tone I would have liked. It's a tale of two halves, though, because from there on, we get the melodic punk, alternative chaos and indie-rock anthemic aura that PUP's known for.

They save the album, without sounding too harsh a critic. "Needed To Hear It," "Paranoid," "Falling Outta Love" and "Hallways" are vintage PUP. I admit, they don't push the evolution button that hard, but they instil a well-worn familiarity which the record needs at this point. The closing ballad in "Shut Up" is cool as well, but by that time, I still did feel incomplete and short-sold. Maybe next time, we'll get some skate and more hardcore in the punk recipe. Singer, Stefan Babcock, has the ingredients as his shrill voice, the time they band took off during COVID, and their overall artistic expression is made for this kind of experiment. Hearing their brand of dark humour set to something more aggressive is the best path forward: see "DVP" a few years back. If not, PUP runs the risk of being stale and boring. It'll take a herculean effort to truly see them be that bland, but let's be real -- we set a high standard for PUP.

To whom much love is given, much is expected. A little more bit and a little less bark moving forward please. I love this band too much to settle for mediocre. And while their mediocre is way better than many bands' "best," PUP needs to be raising the bar for themselves and the genre.