POPULAR MUSIC (London Shacklewell Arms, 08/06/25)

My first reaction upon hearing Popular Music was "hey, this reminds me of Parenthetical Girls"; turns out there's a pretty solid reason why... Anyhow, Zac Pennington remains the greatest frontman you've probably never heard of, prowling the Shacklewell music room (and beyond), standing on any available surface and expending the last of his Rufus Wainwright-meets-Xiu Xiu-esque vocal energy over 45 minutes of emotionally-wrought synth pop, with his Australian partner Prudence Rees-Lee handling the instrumental duties - including theremin - with consummate skill.