''Stagger'' is the fifth

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by American singer

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

. It was released on October 14, 2022, by

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

and

Lava Records Lava Records (Lava Music, LLC) is an American record label owned by Jason Flom in partnership with Universal Music Group. Company history In 1995, Flom launched Lava Records in partnership with Atlantic Records. For the next decade, he continue ...

. It is her debut release on the labels, and first on a

major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

since 2016's '' Bubblebath''.

Background and release

On March 8, 2022, during the first show of the Never Find My Place Tour, Poppy debuted the unreleased song "Stagger". She performed another then unreleased song titled "FYB" (Fuck You Back) at the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

on August 27, 2022. This coincided with the announcement of a four-track EP titled ''Stagger'', which Poppy confirmed in an interview with ''

Dork Dork is a pejorative term for a person (compare with " dweeb" and "fool"). Dork may also refer to: People * Dork Sahagian, Armenian-American climate scientist Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Dork'' (EP), an album by AFI * ''Dork'' (magaz ...

'' along with a partial release date of October 2022. In the interview, she revealed that the EP would contain "a couple of fun songs, and one slower song", and promised "more guitars". Later in the year, in September, it was revealed that the EP would be released on October 14, 2022. It was also announced that the EP would be her debut on

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

and

. The EP's lead single, "FYB", along with a visualizer for the song, was released on September 23, 2022. A music video for the title track was released on the same day as the EP's release. Speaking about the EP, Poppy stated:

Composition

According to ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'', "FYB" demonstrates a " thrashy punk rock style". ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' noted "

punk metal A number of overlapping punk rock subgenres have developed since the emergence of punk rock (often shortened to ''punk'') in the mid-1970s. Even though punk genres at times are difficult to segregate, they usually show differing characteristics i ...

riffs" on the song. According to Poppy, the song is a " evenge anthem aboutsomebody getting what they deserve, without you yourself having to lift a finger". ''

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

'' described the closing track as a "melancholy

trip-hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos ...

ballad".

Track listing

Note * indicates an assistant producer

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals * Ralph Alexander – drums *

Mike Elizondo Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...

– bass (tracks 1, 3) * Ted Gowans – guitar (1, 3), synthesizer programming (1, 3, 4), keyboards (4) * Justin Meldal-Jhonsen – bass, drum programming, guitar, percussion, synthesizer programming (2) *

Matt McJunkins :''McJunkins leads here. For people carrying the surname, see McJunkin'' Matt McJunkins (born March 19, 1983) is an American musician and photographer best known for touring and recording with the American rock band A Perfect Circle. He is a form ...

– bass (4) * Nick Perez – guitar (4) Technical *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering * Adam Hawkins – mixing (1, 3) *

Zakk Cervini Zakk Cervini is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. He was born in Monroe, Connecticut on June 2, 1993. Cervini's work includes collaborations with Simple Plan, Limp Bizkit, Blink-182, All Time Low, Mach ...

– mixing,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(2) * Darrel Thorp – mixing (4) * Justin Francis – engineering (1, 3) * Alex Pasco – engineering (4) * David Greenbaum – engineering (4) * Nik Trekov – mixing assistance (2)

Release history

References

{{2020s-album-stub 2022 EPs Poppy (entertainer) albums Punk rock EPs