REVIEW: Poptones - Pure

POPTONES strip it right back on their sophomore album Pure, focusing on the individual elements of each instrument to cultivate the themes of displacement felt throughout the project. 

The main descriptor for Pure would be spacey, with album opener and single Skin Of Sea moving between long-note riffs and high pitched scratches underneath MADS BERTELSEN’s whispered vocal style. Its follow up Say Something Now brings in the feeling of disillusionment by breaking out of its indie-rock introduction into a mysterious-feeling space as BERTELSEN muses about wanting to be “more than just a dream”. 

In writing this project, POPTONES were focusing on their ingenuity, utilising simpler chord progressions to keep this organic feel. This comes across throughout Pure - for better or for worse. Many of the tracks on this project play on a dragging tempo, in particular This Will Be a Good Day, which snails through its 4:38 runtime with whispered vocals and the constant tease of a breakdown-style instrumental that never quite pays off. While this tempo, its angst and spooky layered vocals match the album's concept perfectly, alone it is better as a passive listen. 

On the note of this, there is a slight overuse of the interlude throughout Pure’s 12-track tracklist, which fall under similar criticism to the one prior. The first of three tracks to do so is Asleep, which is a simple piece of music utilising ambient noises and possibly a xylophone underneath haunting vocals; cool on its own but following This Will Be a Good Day doesn’t impact as we are waiting for the next song to start. The second is Narrow Streets, which is more ambience only two tracks afterwards and (bluntly) feels pointless on its own; tack it onto 17 hours or don’t use it. The last of the lot is I Am Here - the most sonically interesting with a space-exploration energy to it, and the building “I am” with increasing distortion setting good tension for Pure’s last two tracks.

All this said, side two of Pure has the project in its stride, with 17 Hours having a more stable song structure, building through its floor lead into a pensive rock track about falling back into derealisation. Its follow up Thin Air is the standout of Pure, with enough weight in the tom-heavy drum lines and distorted guitars to support the slowed tempo. Hypnagogic State had a more synth-y feel which was a welcome chance of pace; the distortion and vocals layered with the instrumentals create this feel, and add the angst in its outro with the building melody that drops into the last chorus. 

Pure is strong in its concept, with the individual elements dripping in the technical ability of each of POPTONES’ members. The album feels like undergoing derealisation, with these elements merging and converging almost at will to create an out of body energy to Pure. However, listening to Pure cover to cover is a slow experience, best for those who need to sit in space out or need this kind of angst in the background. 

Score: 6/10

Pure was released on September 26th 2025.

Words: Julia Brunton

Photos: Poptones