iTunes

Opening the iTunes Store.If iTunes doesn't open, click the iTunes application icon in your Dock or on your Windows desktop.
iTunes

iTunes is the world's easiest way to organize and add to your digital media collection.

We are unable to find iTunes on your computer. To preview and buy music from If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra by Pop Unknown, download iTunes now.

Already have iTunes? Click I Have iTunes to open it now.

I Have iTunes Free Download
iTunes for Mac + PC

If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra

Pop Unknown

View More By This Artist

Open iTunes to preview, buy, and download music.

Customer Reviews

And The Critics Say...

"Pop Unknown breathes life into their music with an unrelentless pursuit of emotion and care into the songs that they create. "If Arsenic Fails..." is the documentary. The band gave a sample of their talents with the 1999 EP "Summer Season Kills," and five songs was all it took to get hooked into their beautiful melodies and solid noisy guitar constructions, creating a comfortable balance. With "If Arsenic Fails...," the band takes eleven songs to dig deeper into expressionism and pull out a collection of intimate tunes. The lyrics melt in the air, allowing anyone to walk away with something meaningful. Lasater takes elements of Paul Westerberg's Replacements days minus the Reaganism, the feeling of My Bloody Valentine or The Church and the most important aspect - experience - and creates a sincerity not heard in many pop-rock bands. The words take you inside his mind and lets you experience love's conflicts, introspection and life itself. Pop Unknown plays '80s-style pop in a '90s post-hardcore world. The band is most dominant playing delicate lullabies. "An Offering," conveys this with Casper Eckol's bass keeping the song moving forward. The bottom drops out and leaves you weightless. "Lonely Here With Me" is equally as sobering. The band makes a final note with the ending instrumental "Forward=Rewind," a soft farewell that leaves you one step closer and one step farther from the truth. There is a lot to take in, and the best way to experience this album is to dim the lights, relax and listen." - Consumable "Beautiful, just beautiful. I had high expectations of 'If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra" and halfway through the first listen everything about this record just seemed perfect. Eleven tracks of spellbinding pop music from POP UNKNOWN. Pop music that is layered with warm guitars, rolling basslines and solid drumming. Those elements of rock from their first record can still be heard shining through these songs. Since then an extra guitarist has been added and the blend of three guitars in music like this makes it at times fascinating, as they manage to create incredible depth and energy in their music without resonating to either power or speed to create it. I could listen to tracks like 'Hanging on a Thread,' 'Half of Ninety' and 'Lonely Here With Me' over and over again, such is their passion and beauty. If you enjoyed POP UNKNOWN's 'Summer Season Kills' EP, make it your mission to pick this one up. An excellent and timeless record." - Fracture "High-level production, dominant, diverse guitars, playful percussion and very personable vocals combine on IF ARSENIC FAILS, TRY ALGEBRA to present a well-balanced approach to indie pop. The song-writing is smart and the overall vibe of this album usually stretches beyond pabulum. There is also some beautiful instrumentation to be found on here, with emaculate string work. All in all, this is an enjoyable, thoughtful project, definitely worth checking out." - Bandoppler "Pop Unknown is an appropriate name. They seem to me the type of band that enjoys a limited following at the time they exist. And then long after they disappear they show up on a soundtrack to a really cool movie and then that album becomes a prized collectible as millions search out their recordings. With twinkly guitar melodies and hearts on their sleeve; Pop Unknown display their talent for super-catchy love songs that tend to associate themselves with special crushes, especially memorable drunken evenings or afternoons spent watching snowfall. Instead of playing the dissonant indie-rock game, they rely on rock solid melodies and sappy vocals. Songs like "Hanging On A Thread" encapsulate the highs and lows of a fragile relationship with mushy splendor. The best part of this album is the welcome lack of whiny emo-guy vocals in favor of a lush tenor that would sound right at home in Flock of Seagulls. This is completely ear-friendly stuff that will appeal to your indie-rock friends just as much as your kid sister." - Ready Set Aesthetic "Dreamy and soothing. The moody, shifting guitars are the main focus...with subtle yet appropriate melodies completing the picture. This band's approach is sincere." - BabySue "Pop Unknown have such a strong, deep sound, it's hard to imagine that this is the band's first full-length. This album has them finding their sound. And the vocals are much deeper and more resonating, sounding much more powerful than on their earlier music. Their sound is all their own, at times faster and more intense, at times slower and pretty. But it's a sound that's layered, textured, flowing in complex rhythms that just swirl inside your head for an amazing listen." - Delusions of Adequacy

Emo beginnings

This is a great album when emo was cool and no one knew about it. I recommend oh kay and perfect in venice.

AMAZING

simply amazing!!! buy buy buy

Biography

Formed: Austin, TX

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '90s, '00s

The post-grunge emo outfit Pop Unknown hailed from Austin, TX, and had a hearty pop sound. Composed of Tim Lasater (vocals/guitar), Gabe Wiley (drums), Joel Ganucheau (guitar), Matt Breedlove (guitar), and Casper Echols (bass), Pop Unknown issued their debut EP, Summer Season Kills, on Deep Elm in 1999. They toured with the likes of Pedro the Lion, Jimmy Eat World, and the Get Up Kids and shaped a strong, tight unit. In 1999, Pop Unknown released their first studio full-length, If Arsenic Fails,...
Full Bio

Top Albums and Songs By Pop Unknown

Listeners Also Bought

If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra, Pop Unknown
 View In iTunes
  • $9.99
  • Genres: Alternative, Music
  • Released: Nov 09, 1999
  • ℗ 2004 Deep Elm Records Inc

Customer Ratings

Contemporaries

Become a fan of the iTunes and App Store pages on Facebook for exclusive offers, the inside scoop on new apps and more.