Piggy - Peter McPoland

Peter McPoland is a 22-year-old alternative artist, best known for his 2020 single, Romeo and Juliet. His debut feature-length album, Piggy, couldn't be further away from the folksy, upbeat, romantic vibe present in his previous releases.

Piggy is filled with grainy, offbeat, melodic songs about coming of age in a cold, digital world. It's filled with the pain of Gen-Z's need to navigate through a technological landscape, feeling disconnected from humanity, and being victims of over-consumption of bad news. Things that have been forced upon them by society and its norms. This album is riddled with self-deprecation and self-awareness, a generational sentiment carried by 20-somethings in the late-capitalistic United States.

Track 1 - Mold

Scream and cry, take it like a man

Close your eyes and rot away

Wipe it clean, hang it up to dry

Wash it off, his rot away

The quick drum beats and a compelling tempo contrast with the melancholy lyrics. This feeling of "rotting away" is echoed throughout the entirety of the song. It captures the essence of Gen-Z turmoil, manifested by growing up with the internet, and all of the troubles that come with it, at their fingertips from a young age.

The music video, animated by Peter himself, does a good job illustrating what it feels like to be constantly tied to the virtual world. Portraying a sense of meaningless it creates when everything online seems to matter more than physical reality itself. It's an all-consuming presence that seems impossible to escape from.

Track 2 - Blue

I sound like a baby

Admit it

I sound like a whining excuse and a dick

I sound I like it's time to turn blue and give in

I sound pretty righteous, who gives a shit

The music video provides snippets of Peter's life as well as a look into his old sound with the inclusion of his song, "String Lights," in the beginning montage. We then get an inside look at his process of packing up his first apartment and moving on, in the same way he's moving on to a more mature music career when compared to his previous discography.

It's a transient tune that sets the stage for the changes Peter is experiencing as he moves out of adolescence into his adult life. The lyrics are self-deprecating, yet self-aware. It's an inside look at the life of an artist; someone who puts their all into their work, and knows they probably sound egotistical while they're doing it.

It's a nod to his previous 7-track EP Slow Down, with the lyrics "don't slow down for me" repeated throughout the tune. It's incredibly catchy with melodic guitar riffs, steady drum beats, and lyrics that will stay with you. A real earworm.

Track 3 - Make It Stop

Come on, show me what you’re made of

Big gun, blow away my pink blood

-

You can try to turn it off, start breaking down to make it stop

Yes, you can try to turn it off, start breaking down to make it stop

Yes

There's a tried and true early-2000s vibe that permeates this album, and Make It Stop is a hallmark example of that. It's quick tempo and deep bass lines will get your foot tapping. Again, the fast beats juxtapose the lyrics, which serve as another somber reminder of feeling stuck.

"You can try to turn it off," but you can't, can you? This idea that people can just walk away from the internet, something echoed by older generations, who aren't as equipped to deal with the technological nuance that the younger generations have to deal with, is false. The internet has us wrapped around its finger, and if we want to succeed, we better figure out the algorithm and be strong enough to deal with its consequences.

This is especially true for someone like Peter, who made his name on the internet through his viral videos promoting his music. Even if you're not a viral sensation like Peter, for any artist or business owner, plastering yourself on the internet is the best way to get business and make a living. That sometimes comes with many critics who use anonymity to break people down.

Track 4 - I Need You

Why is there a pounding in my brain?

Why is it starting to feel good?

What is that sound you're playing?

Why is it starting to feel good?

-

Why is there something in my eye?

Why is it starting to sink in?

Why am I happy? It's making me cry

Why? 'Cause it's starting to sink in

The hypnotic repetition in the song will certainly "sink in" to the listener's psyche. It reflects the obsessive impulses we begin to have with things that might initially inconvenience us. These rhetorical questions about discomfort (ie. pounding in my brain) followed up with the idea that they're beginning to "feel good" highlight this.

The chorus, consisting of rhythmic "i need you, i miss you, i love you's" carries this yearning. It's so pertinent that the narrator in this song (whether that's Peter himself or you're able to put yourself in his shoes) doesn't want to need, miss, and love this "thing."

Its ambiguity is fantastic. This song could be about a variation of things. A past lover, an unhealthy vice, or the internet itself, which obviously, is a constant theme on this album.

Track 5 - Digital Silence

Why don't you get it? Can't you get it? Understand

They're gonna execute the mother to elevate the man

They're gonna propagate the killer, eliminate the youth

They're gonna blind date everyone until you love them too

Arguably the song that put this upcoming album on the map, Digital Silence took the internet by storm. It carries the theme of the album on its shoulders as it explores the suffocating nature of the complex relationship between young adults, the world wide web, and current politics, especially with the lyrics highlighted above.

He discusses the overturning of Roe V. Wade, school shootings, and the intricacies of consuming so much negative news with politicians who don't seem to care to help.

Digital start, digital end

Digital birth, digital death

This lyric pretty much describes what it's been like for Generation Z and beyond to grow up with technology at the forefront of everything. It's all they know, and it's all they will ever know.

This is the answer to the question

There is nothing you can do

And they are powerless to stop it.

Track 6 - Dog

Damn fucking dog's ears perk up when the hinges squeak

Damn fucking dog keeps his head down, good boy, don't speak

Damn fucking dog breathes so loud, it's screaming to me

Damn fucking dog, drool dripping off of his snout

Stop breathing, please

Obviously, Peter is not talking about an actual dog. In the music video, he takes on a Wilfred-esque persona and dresses as the dog himself. This song quickly turns into a pop-punk ballad at its conclusion as the "damn fucking dog" takes its power back, turning around to kill its owner after years of abuse.

It represents how people, especially Generation Z, can only take so much pressure and discomfort before cracking and seeking revenge on the institutions that hold them back. Gen-Z is a generation that intends on carrying forth social change, no matter the costs, as we've seen during protests for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the killing of George Floyd. As a collective, we've been forced to watch our planet burn, live stream our cops killing innocent people, and witness our autonomy being stripped away by legislative action written by those who were born before the Civil Rights Movement, all while being treated like entitled, whiny, babies.

There's this righteous anger that pervades the collective consciousness of those aged 18-26. We're tired of being discarded, told to suck it up, and urged to get with the program. Though the lyrics in Dog are violent, morbid, and even mildly disturbing, it's a song of hope, echoing the sentiment that we can get through this mess together.

Track 7 - Were You There?

The soap had gone dry and was filled back with water

I turned it to wine and I drank it up

I became the grass and the hay and the fodder

Then I laid on my side while they ate me for lunch

I'm so insecure. "I'm sorry," I say

I stand up and fall and start to blush

There's someone above me who's going to pay

I'm going to hell, enough is enough

This song discusses the relationship that younger generations have with religion, as many older traditionalists try to impose conservatism and modesty on their predecessors. I'm sure it can be interpreted in many different ways, and I don't speak for Peter in my assessment of this song, but I will say it brought up a lot of feelings connected to my own experience with Catholicism, a religion I staunchly left at the young age of 13.

It seems there's this anger directed toward "God," or at least the idea of "God," which Peter seemingly mocks in his lyrics. His narrator is almost comparing themselves to Christ with the lyric "I turned it to wine." The chorus seems to be referring to the "Lord" as a representation of people (perhaps Peter or his everyman-esque narrator) or groups of people, perhaps even the whole of Generation Z itself.

Young people might carry this feeling of being "crucified" by the world around them. A world that has not set them up for success, with strict religions and regressive politics echoing through the American diaspora of late-stage capitalism, seemingly wanting to put people in unrealistic, unattainable boxes.

I don't know exactly what Peter is saying with this song, this is just my analysis, as I have no background knowledge of his religion or religious upbringing. As I interpret this song, I relate to the resentful feelings present in the lyrics. It echoes feelings that I harbor toward organized religion for its propensity to want to quash individualism with outdated social norms and forced conformity.

Track 8 - Ceiling Fan/Piggy

Say something if you wanna get down

I'm so sick of you spinning around, 'round, 'round, round, 'round

Around, 'round, 'round, 'round

Say something if you wanna get down

I'm so sick of you hanging around, 'round, 'round, round, 'round

Around, 'round, 'round, 'round, 'round

Like a neverending roller coaster, there's no real way to escape the confines of society. It's nauseating, suffocating, and disorienting all in one. Especially with an addiction to the internet, which creates a fear of missing out due to the instant gratification of viral trends and breaking news.

Ceiling Fan is broken up by the Piggy bridge, where the melodic, fast drum beats turn into aggressive guitar riffs, followed by punk-rock screaming into the mic. It ends on a high note:

Piggy is fussy, piggy's a bitch

Piggy annoys me, it makes me sick

Say what you want, do what you do

Piggy will grow up just like you

Peter, referring to himself as "piggy," which is also a metaphor for those sharing his sentiments in his age range, once again discusses the ways in which older generations discredit the youth.

We're chalked up to being fussy and annoying, knowing nothing about the world around us, when in reality, we likely know far too much due to the nature of our upbringing and ability to consume more information than ever. It also acknowledges that one day, we will grow up, and there's this fear that permeates us that we will grow to do the same, discredit the generations that come after us, and leave the world in a mess for them to clean up.

An endless cycle. A ceiling fan that goes 'round, 'round, 'round, 'round, 'round.

Track 9 - Find Me Out

Well, I have seen the fragile tears that hide in smiles

Beneath the cheeks of shells of men

And I have found that trouble meets me once in a while, whoa

Still it sits, and it stares

And knows when

To find me out

This slow-paced ballad is an identity crisis exemplified, both personally for Peter and generationally for Gen-Z.

There's this need to be perceived as stoic. In doing so, we become shells of ourselves to portray identities, perhaps both online and in our waking lives, that are palatable for society, as opposed to one that carries our true genuine natures, thoughts, and feelings.

This slower track reels with the emotions that come with keeping up with a persona and losing yourself to a collective mindset. Perhaps losing yourself to conformity, and trying to straddle the line between being agreeable and being true.

Track 10 - Turn Off The Noise

Come on, it's time to try to say something is wrong

You're right, it just doesn't feel good now

Come on, get dressed, get out of bed

Turn off the noise, I know it just doesn't feel good now

Another upbeat, catchy, vibrant song with lyrics that hover between despair and anger. Similar to sentiments left in Ceiling Fan/Piggy, "turning off the noise" seems to be another impossibility.

Things don't feel good within society right now, especially for people, such as Generation Z, who are constantly being fed streams of distressing information. There's nothing for us to do other than "get dressed" and "get out of bed." We do our best to "turn off the noise," but no matter what we do, things just don't feel good.

We can't escape it (it being a catch-all for climate change, navigating a suffocating digital landscape, and all the other hellish events coming to fruition in late-stage capitalism). While others may ignore the problems that we face, they can't escape them either:

Hear what you want to

Hate thе way it sounds

Fear what the kids do

But pray they show you how

Track 11 - I Want You

If you said it

And you meant it

I would do it

I would end it

And I would give you

All I have

All I say

All I am

And you'd take it

And you'd hear me

And you'd get it

Understand me

This synthy, echoey, mantra is upbeat and catchy, while sounding hopeful, it exudes a certain level of desperation. It could be read as a love song, yearning for a past lover who is no longer in one's life. It probably is, but fuck it, I read it differently.

This is a battle cry for a generation of beings who just want to be accepted and understood. We will give everything and anything to be taken seriously. It's a great ending that follows the motif of the album nicely, leaving the listener on a high note.

The repetition at the end of "do you need me?" is a great rhetorical question to ponder. Of course, everyone is needed. Each individual has value, each individual deserves to be understood, and each individual should be accepted for who they are.

Overview

Generation Z has suffered through two financial collapses (though the one we're currently in loves to be ignored), the rise of school shootings, the overconsumption of distressing media in real-time as it happens (police brutality, regressive politics, violence, etc), and the collapse of global ecosystems, all in our short lifetimes.

Peter McPoland masterfully weaves together a concept album that examines the complex relationship this generation has with all of these societal forces, highlighting the stress, anxiety, and stuck-ness that permeate our daily lives.

We're trying our best, we're suffering, and we're crying out for help, but no one is listening. It's unlike anything I've ever heard before. McPoland, though young and realistically, just starting in his career, is an artist who's going to strike a chord with a lot of young people.

I love this album. I hope it brings Peter much success. His messaging is poignant and important, and it will resonate with a generation of young adults who feel alone and disenfranchised.

Musically, lyrically, and conceptually, this is a 5 out of 5 from me.

My Top 5 Tracks

1. I Need You
2. Dog
3. Blue
4. Turn Off The Noise
5. Ceiling Fan/Piggy

(This was harder to do than the analysis tbh cause they're all so good. Obviously, this list is subjective, which poses the question: What are your Top 5 Tracks off of Piggy?)

You can listen to Piggy on Spotify and in the YouTube videos I provided, which come directly from Peter McPoland's Channel.

Disclaimer: I never review albums, and I very likely, don't know what I'm talking about. I just fucking love this album and wanted to write about it. All analysis provided in this article is my own and is not intended to reflect the thoughts and ideals of Peter McPoland. Only he truly knows what his songs are about, though, like any good artist, his lyrics are left ambiguous and up to interpretation. I, as a bored post-English major, simply took him up on the offer to interpret them. I hope you enjoy Piggy as much as I do.