Eddie Japan - Pop Fiction (2023)

Designed for extended listening in the attention-deficit age of the single, Eddie Japan’s new album Pop Fiction is all about choices – and what happens after decisions are made. With inspiration that draws across centuries, from Danish existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard’s Either/Or to modern-day glam rock thinkers like David Bowie and Frank-N-Furter, the Boston cinematic-pop septet have crafted an entire world that unfolders with each song like chapters to a novel. The album releases on 4/28/2023 to the streams and on CD by Boston independent label Rum Bar Records.

“The first song I wrote for the record was ‘The Dandy of Suburbia,’ and it had a strong visual appeal, almost film-like, so I felt it could be the beginning of a larger story,” Eddie Japan vocalist and songwriter David Santos tells us. “Characters like Alfie Elkins and Don Draper came to mind. It evolved into a classic anti-hero tale, as seen through the eyes of a strip mall Don Giovanni/Juan. Ultimately, it’s a record about the consequences of one’s choices.”

Those decisions play out across the album’s 11 theatrical tracks, which include two collaborations with The Cars’ iconic synth pioneer Greg Hawkes, an honorary member of the band who not only joins them on stage, but also appears on two Pop Fiction songs: March single “Time Machine” and album track “I Can’t Wait.” Knowing full well today’s listeners are more inclined to digest music in bite-sized two-minute singles fit for the streaming era, Eddie Japan have leaned into their musical drama and knack for storytelling through Pop Fiction’s grand, ambitious reach.

“We’ve been hearing for the last decade or so that the album format is dead,” Santos adds. “We hope this record does something to beat back that notion. Pop Fiction is a definite album experience and we would love for listeners to enjoy the record from start to finish at least a few times so that the connections between the songs are discovered. In that same spirit, we hope folks who may have grown up listening to LPs get the sense that we trust their intelligence and that this record is for them.”