World Wide Pop is the second album by London-based indie pop band Superorganism, released on 15 July 2022 by Domino Recording Company.[1] The album features guest appearances from musicians Chai, Pi Ja Ma, Stephen Malkmus, Dylan Cartlidge, Boa Constrictors, and Gen Hoshino.[2] The album is the group's first since the exit of members Ruby, Robert Strange, and Emily (real name Mark Turner),[3] the latter of whom was caught in controversy in 2019 after filing restraining orders against two women who spoke out against him.[4] The album was followed by an EP of remixes by artists including Lewis OfMan, DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, and the band themselves, released by Domino 28 October 2022.[5]

World Wide Pop
A crowd of people gathered under a globe projecting multi-coloured beams of light
Studio album by
Released15 July 2022
GenreIndie pop
Length40:19
LabelDomino
Producer
Superorganism chronology
Superorganism
(2018)
World Wide Pop
(2022)
World Wide Pop – Reeeemix!
(2022)
Singles from World Wide Pop
  1. "Teenager"
    Released: 7 March 2022
  2. "It's Raining"
    Released: 31 March 2022
  3. "Crushed.zip"
    Released: 27 April 2022
  4. "On & On"
    Released: 25 May 2022
  5. "Into the Sun"
    Released: 28 June 2022

Singles

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Lead single "Teenager" was released alongside the album's announcement on 7 March 2022, with an accompanying music video starring actor Brian Jordan Alvarez.[6] Subsequent singles, all with their own music videos as well, were "It's Raining", released 31 March;[7] "Crushed.zip" released 27 April;[8] "On & On" released 25 May;[9] and "Into the Sun" released 28 June.[10]

Style and reception

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World Wide Pop ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
Rolling Stone     [13]
The Skinny     [14]
Slant Magazine     [15]
Uncut8/10[16]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, World Wide Pop received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 from 9 critic scores.[11] The Skinny's Anita Bhadani wrote that the album, "Superorganism's ambitiously weird take on pop", isn't new for subverting pop but is made more special because "in a saturated scene Superorganism have pulled off something wholly unique and – most importantly – fun." The album's "future-facing sound draws more from the 'cut-and-paste' ethos of the indie heyday than hyperpop", and while its maximalist core can sometimes be overdone such as on "Solar System", "on the whole it finds the sweet spot between chaos and structure, silliness and depth, and it's a banger."[14]

Slant Magazine's Steve Erickson wrote that the band's "sophomore effort doubles down on their copy-and-paste approach, but this time with mixed results." Given the rise of hyperpop in the intervening years since the band's 2018 debut album, "songs like "Black Hole Baby" sound kitschy and backward-looking in comparison—more Avalanches than 100 gecs." The first album's "groovier, danceable tempos have been replaced with more upbeat, jittery arrangements on World Wide Pop, and while the group's personality shines through in the album's aggressive, deceptively cheery production, the songs hint at an anxiety that's never fully fleshed out." Ultimately, the album "succumbs to sameiness, with several songs in a row set to a similarly frantic tempo and overly compressed, treble-heavy sound mix." Erickson closes by noting lyrics from "Put Down Your Phone" which "allude to the slow disintegration of our attention spans", stating that "Unfortunately, merely calling out our hyperactive attention spans doesn't prevent Superorganism from surrendering to it."[15]

Year-end lists

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World Wide Pop on year-end lists
Publication # Ref.
Under the Radar 100 [17]

Track listing

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All tracks are written and produced by Superorganism, except where noted.

World Wide Pop track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Black Hole Baby"
3:18
2."World Wide Pop"  2:37
3."On & On" 
3:10
4."Teenager" (featuring Chai and Pi Ja Ma) 
  • Superorganism
  • Price
2:59
5."It's Raining" (featuring Dylan Cartlidge and Stephen Malkmus)
 3:12
6."Flying"  2:49
7."Solar System" (featuring Chai, Pi Ja Ma, Boa Constrictors, Axel Concato and Paul Concato)  3:32
8."Into the Sun" (featuring Gen Hoshino, Stephen Malkmus, Pi Ja Ma and Axel Concato)
  • Superorganism
  • Pi Ja Ma
  • Axel Concanto
 3:20
9."Put Down Your Phone" Price3:14
10."Crushed.zip" 
  • Hill
  • Price
3:34
11."Oh Come On"  2:31
12."Don't Let the Colony Collapse"  3:46
13."Everything Falls Apart"  2:17
Total length:40:31

Charts

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Chart performance for World Wide Pop
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 57
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[19] 64
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] 50
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 99
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[22] 6

References

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  1. ^ Pearis, Bill (7 March 2022). "Superorganism announce new album & tour, share "Teenager" ft Chai & Pi Ja Ma". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. ^ Skinner, Tom (7 March 2022). "Superorganism announce second album World Wide Pop with new single "Teenager"". NME. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  3. ^ Minsker, Evan (7 March 2022). "Superorganism Announce New Album World Wide Pop, Share Video for New Song "Teenager"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  4. ^ Hogan, Marc (9 January 2019). "Superorganism's Mark Turner Sought Restraining Orders Against Two Women Who Spoke Out Against Him". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Superorganism announce new EP World Wide Pop - Reeeemix!". Domino Recording Company. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  6. ^ Rettig, James (7 March 2022). "Superorganism – "Teenager" (Feat. Chai & Pi Ja Ma)". Stereogum. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  7. ^ Lavin, Will (31 March 2022). "Superorganism team up with Stephen Malkmus for new song "It's Raining"". NME. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  8. ^ Rettig, James (27 April 2022). "Superorganism - "Crushed.zip"". Stereogum. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  9. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (25 May 2022). "Superorganism – "On & On"". Stereogum. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  10. ^ Arnone, Joey (28 June 2022). "Superorganism Share New Song "Into the Sun"". Under the Radar. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  11. ^ a b "World Wide Pop by Superorganism Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  12. ^ Sendra, Tim. "Superorganism - World Wide Pop". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Superorganism – World Wide Pop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  14. ^ a b Bhadani, Anita (11 July 2022). "Superorganism – World Wide Pop". The Skinny. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  15. ^ a b Erickson, Steve (11 July 2022). "Superorganism World Wide Pop Review: Pop Pastiche for the Short Attention Span Era". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  16. ^ Ferla, Lisa-Marie. "Superorganism - World Wide Pop". Uncut. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2022". Under the Radar. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  18. ^ "スーパーオーガニズム". Oricon. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of July 20, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2022.