All The Perversions Of Someone Who Could Cut You Off, Surgical

Poppy “Flicker”

“Flicker” sounds more like Poppy’s earlier playfully mystifying version of pop after an excursion into playfully mystifying nu-metal, but with a more direct and aggressive lyrical approach. The melody and cadence remind me a lot of “My Style,” but whereas the confrontational qualities of that song were mixed in with extreme ironic distance – “Poppy is an object, Poppy is your best friend, Poppy will break your neck” – in this song she’s unambiguously tearing into a controlling ex that she’s cut out of her life. To some extent this song seems less about catharsis than sending a clear message to them and a warning to anyone else. And maybe there’s a warning to herself too in the chorus – “I flicker between fear and a vision of forever,” naming the two internal forces that kept her in this situation for too long.

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