Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul?

'Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul? (stylized as CANMUSICSAVEYOURMORTALSOUL?') is the debut EP by alternative rock band The Populars.

Development
The band was formed in January 2019 as a student band out of Rhode Island. The songs on the EP were written before it was recorded. It was originally going to be individually released singles, but was decided against at the last minute.

The first show with these songs was at the Arctic Playhouse as an opening band for a different, more popular band.

The concert was described by guitarist Jim "Kermy" Johnson as "a sweaty romp through our songs as [Casey] flipped throughout the lyricbook.

3 of the songs were written by lead singer Casey Bromage, and the rest were covers of other songs.

Bassist David Jones said that "he [Casey] was inspired by the Who a lot, as well as Queen, and some the Beatles."

The title song "Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul?" was written on a scrap of lined paper after their second opening show, which has been lost for some time.

The title song and the EP's name is a reference to Don McLean's "American Pie." "American Pie" appears on the EP as a cover.

Breakthrough
The Populars broke through during their fifth show on March 27th, at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket. The band performed their four original songs, as well as 5 covers by The Who, The Beatles, and Queen.

Someone who knew someone from Reprise Records had seen the young band, as well as "the passion from the frontman and the bassist, and the guitarist stuck out during his parts," in the offical reports for signing them on.

After the show, the Reprise guy went up to the band and made them a deal. "The man came up to us, and he stook his hand out and said 'I want to sign you on.' And so we did." Jones said.

Re-writing the songs
After making the deal, Bromage went back to his songs and rewrote them for better listening quality. The song "Man on the Moon" was made to be longer, and renamed "My Rhapsody." In concerts, they perform "Man on the Moon."

Jones helped rewrite the song "Without You", which was released as a single and put on the second EP, also titled "Without You".

The song "Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul?" got untouched in a whole. The song "Lost" was rewritten for piano, with acoustic bass in the background for Jones to fiddle about with. The original version of "Lost" was rewritten with new lyrics, and titled "Passport". It was put on the third EP, "The Populars."

Production
On July 27th, after earning enough money to record an EP, the band set out to a recording studio in New York. The warm-up session was called "Overture", and has little to no lyrics. The band recorded their original songs on the first day, and on the second day, they scheduled a gig to promote the EP.

The third day, the 29th, they recorded the covers.

The album took 2 months to produce, as the files for the music was lost, but then recovered. The music for "Lost" was lost forever, ironically. They recorded it in a homemade studio.

Reception
The day the EP was released was 1 month off-schedule, but the EP sold well. The marketing for it had been great, with fans being born every time a single was released. Of singles, there were two, "Lost" and "Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul?". Covers were provided as B-sides.

Fans raved on Twitter about getting their copy. The release concert for the EP had been livestreamed, and a live performance of the band's songs were put on the YouTube channel.

Musical and lyrical themes
The theme of the EP was recovering a break-up with someone you thought was the love of your life with music. The eponymous track was written about a break-up drummer Ben Krager had gone through. The song Lost was about experiences with right after getting dumped, Bromage said "that song [Lost] has always been the bane of my existance. When I wrote it, I hadn't been in a relationship, but then when I did get it one, he broke my heart and I knew what Ben was going through."

The song "My Rhapsody" was about the time the band flew to New Jersey to do a special concert, as they were the opening band for a popular band who were going to a release party.

The songs Bromage chose to cover were "my guilty pleasure tracks in school. The songs everyone thought I was gay for listening to." Most of the songs (except My Rhapsody) are written in a minor key.

Live performances
Krager stated "we always rehearsed before a set went live. Everyone does that, but it used to be so weird. I guess we're the 'prim and proper' rock band."

Bromage is openly gay, but he wears normal outfits, such as flannel, and jeans. "I don't like the moms who spit on their son's screen because they're watching a performer perform in a flamboyant way." Jones described Bromage as "looks like Lennon, acts like Elton, and sings like Freddie."

The songs would usually be mixed in between covers, but later, after the EP was released, they designated a part of the show to "Coverland."

Track listing

 * 1) Overture (The Populars)
 * 2) Lost (Bromage)
 * 3) My Rhapsody (Bromage)
 * 4) Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul? (Bromage)
 * 5) Baba O'Riley (Townshend)
 * 6) Ob La Di, Ob La Da (McCartney)
 * 7) American Pie (McLean)

Personnel
Casey Bromage - lead vocals, backup vocals, piano, keyboard

Jim "Kermy" Johnson - electric guitar

Ben Kramer - drums

David Jones - electric bass, acoustic bass, acoustic guitar