PHOTO: RUBY & KEATON SHAPIRO | LA-based trio Populuxe craft soulful glam nuggets, imbued with brutal truths.
The band’s latest single, “It’s Happening Again,” is a potent and bittersweet take on old adage “history repeats itself.” It’s prophetic, writing-on-the-wall message is one that has been put to song by many of the great artists but never quite as succinct as its done here in under two minutes.
Lead singer Rob Shapiro delivers a lilting falsetto over a circular guitar part, waxing poetic about the deep wounds which we, as a society, continue to bandage without weeding out the root cause. In many ways our current socio-political turmoil reflects the 1960s, and this song could have just as easily been released back in that decade in reference to previous national fallout. The parallels are clear but the track is not preachy. It’s bittersweet and honest, like a soothing balm for those who prefer to address something of this magnitude head on.
