Poppy Empty Hands
Poppy's Empty Hands stakes a claim for arena-scaled metal and pop-metal hybridization with a set of songs that trade blunt force for immediate melodic payoff. Across eight professional reviews, the record earned a 67.13/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to a handful of standout tracks that anchor its
The best song is "Guardian" because its earwormy, epic scope makes it immediately memorable and arena-ready.
The album’s core strength is marrying maximalist metalcore arrangements with pop vocal craft and high-gloss production, though it sometimes becomes cluttered.
Best for listeners looking for metal evolution and commercial crossover, starting with Guardian and Empty Hands.
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Full consensus notes
Poppy's Empty Hands stakes a claim for arena-scaled metal and pop-metal hybridization with a set of songs that trade blunt force for immediate melodic payoff. Across eight professional reviews, the record earned a 67.13/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to a handful of standout tracks that anchor its urgency and ambition.
Reviewers agree that “Guardian”, “Public Domain” and “Unravel” emerge as the best songs on Empty Hands, praised for towering choruses, hook-driven intensity and vocal acrobatics. Several critics highlight the title track “Empty Hands” and “Dying To Forget” as moments of uncompromising heaviness, while mid-tempo cuts like “Ribs” and “Time Will Tell” provide breath and emotional contrast. Across the reviews, production refinement - credited largely to the collaboration with Jordan Fish - receives both admiration and critique: writers commend the arena-ready scope and polished vocal focus, yet some say maximalist arrangements occasionally clutter otherwise potent songwriting.
The critical consensus frames Empty Hands as a confident reinvention that balances melody with aggression. Praise centers on raw emotion, theatrical melodicism and live-ready energy; dissenters point to repetitive industrial tropes and moments where production undermines songcraft. Taken together, the reviews present a record that is ambitious and frequently exhilarating, though not without flaws, positioning Empty Hands as a noteworthy, if uneven, chapter in Poppy's evolution from internet provocateur to metal-forward auteur.
Below, the full reviews unpack where the album succeeds most - and where its reach occasionally exceeds its grip.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Guardian
6 mentions
"she wields her arresting pipes with ice-melting force on Empty Hands singles “Unravel” and “Guardian."— Pitchfork
Empty Hands
4 mentions
"Empty Hands" , is in full meltdown mode, dripping with rage"— Blabbermouth
Dying To Forget
4 mentions
"bombardment of savage, second-person lyrics, peaking in 'Dying To Forget"— New Musical Express (NME)
Empty Hands ’ weakest track is opener “Public Domain,” an overcooked flashback
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Public Domain
Bruised Sky
Guardian
Constantly Nowhere
Unravel
Dying To Forget
Time Will Tell
Eat The Hate
The Wait
If We're Following The Light
Blink
Ribs
Empty Hands
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 9 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Poppy makes a compelling case for the big stage on Empty Hands, where the best tracks - notably “Guardian” and “Unravel” - push heavy music toward arena-sized ambition without feeling false. The review voice is celebratory and assured, noting the gargantuan scope and earwormy hooks that make songs like “Guardian” feel immediately memorable. There is also praise for the emotional hit of “Unravel” and the scorched intensity of “Dying To Forget”, all framed as products of an inspired partnership with Jordan Fish. Overall the reviewer presents Empty Hands as defiant, ambitious, and genuinely exhilarating rather than contrived.
Key Points
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The best song is "Guardian" because its earwormy, epic scope makes it immediately memorable and arena-ready.
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The album's core strengths are its ambitious, big-scope production, strong collaboration with Jordan Fish, and successful blend of heavy music with mainstream hooks.
Themes
Bl
Critic's Take
Poppy leans into fury on Empty Hands, a record that prizes raw emotion and stage-ready aggression. The review savors how “Bruised Sky” hits with thick, crushing riffs while “Guardian” stretches into a soaring, bigger feel, marking them as standout tracks. It praises opener “Public Domain” for grabbing attention with industrial grit and robotic vocals, and it flags the title track “Empty Hands” and “Dying To Forget” as moments of full meltdown and relentless sharpness. Overall the album is celebrated for focused production and an urgent backbone that keeps the 13 songs moving.
Key Points
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The best song is best because it pairs crushing riffs with strong melody to embody the album's urgent anger.
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The album's core strengths are focused production, emotional immediacy, and an underlying bitterness that gives it backbone.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a voice that privileges immediacy and grit, Poppy's Empty Hands stakes its case on momentum and hook-driven intensity. Elsewhere, “If We’re Following The Light” and “Ribs” broaden the emotional range, proving the best tracks on Empty Hands balance heaviness with melody. The result feels purposeful rather than performative, a set of songs that move fast and rarely linger longer than they need to.
Key Points
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The best song is driven by immediacy and clipped aggression, exemplified by “Public Domain” opening with a jolt.
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The album’s core strengths are urgency, vocal focus, and balancing heaviness with melodic hooks.
Themes
Critic's Take
Poppy returns on Empty Hands with a record that leans into raw, unfettered energy and sharper production, and the best songs - notably “Bruised Sky” and “Public Domain” - wear that balance proudly. Emma Wilkes' voice here prizes volcanic melodicism and theatrical moments, so the best tracks on Empty Hands feel simultaneously colossal and personal. The opener “Public Domain” is hailed as Poppy at her most individual, while “Bruised Sky” and “Guardian” show how Jordan Fish's production coalesces with her palette. Overall, the album is varied but cohesive, delivering some of Poppy's most exciting ideas and making those standout songs unmistakable.
Key Points
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The best song, "Public Domain", is the album's most individual and theatrically impactful moment.
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The album's core strengths are its raw live-style energy and refined producer-artist cohesion.
Themes
Critic's Take
The reviewer insists that Poppy’s Empty Hands lives and dies by its big moments, naming “Unravel” and “Guardian” as the best songs thanks to towering choruses and acrobatic vocals. They praise how those tracks turn Poppy’s pop instincts into satisfying metal-tinged singalongs while noting the record gets bloated at times. The closing title track “Empty Hands” is described as uncompromisingly extreme, which underlines how the album swings from polished hooks to feral heaviness. Overall the best tracks on Empty Hands are hailed for marrying maximalist production with genuine vocal force, making “Unravel” and “Guardian” the standouts.
Key Points
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The best song, “Unravel”, is best because it pairs Poppy’s acrobatic voice with savvy production for a powerhouse singalong.
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The album’s core strength is marrying maximalist metalcore arrangements with pop vocal craft and high-gloss production, though it sometimes becomes cluttered.
Themes
Critic's Take
Poppy arrives at Empty Hands with a confrontational, surgically precise edge, and the best songs - notably “Public Domain” and “Guardian” - show her rewriting metalcore with melodic bite. Shannon Garner’s voice is measured but admiring, noting how opening cuts set the tone and how mid-tempo burners like “Time Will Tell” and “Ribs” balance restraint and release. The review highlights “Unravel” as a study in controlled intensity, and overall frames the record as confident, unpredictable, and purposefully evolved.
Key Points
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“Public Domain” is the best song because it sets the album’s confrontational tone and fuses experimental edge with confident energy.
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The album’s core strengths are its balance of melody and aggression, and Poppy’s confident reinvention across metalcore textures.
Themes
Sp
Critic's Take
Poppy sounds at her absolute best on Empty Hands, but the album never escapes the trap of radio-friendly riffs and unimaginative industrial bits. The reviewer repeatedly praises her voice while complaining that songs like “Public Domain” and others showcase fantastic vocals over stale, boring instrumentation. If you search for the best songs on Empty Hands, the highlights are the vocal performances - they are godly - but the songwriting and production keep the album from delivering truly great tracks.
Key Points
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The best song(s) are defined by Poppy's vocal performances, with “Public Domain” highlighted as showcasing her range.
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The album's core strength is the singer's powerful vocals, while its weaknesses are stale riffs, overclean production, and lack of originality.
Critic's Take
Poppy doubles down on heavy music on Empty Hands, delivering cutthroat songs that stake a claim as the best tracks on the record. The opening march of “Public Domain” and the title-track onslaught make clear statements about where the album lives, while tense moments like “Dying To Forget” and “If We’re Following The Light” show why those are among the best songs on Empty Hands. Rishi Shah writes with clipped admiration, noting the record wastes nothing and feels like a crash course in knockout rock. The result is an album that both punishes and pampers, its fiercest moments standing out as the record's high points.
Key Points
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The best song moments are the album's fiercest, notably the opening “Public Domain” and the title track, which set a cutthroat tone.
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The album's core strengths are its focused heavy-metal production, concise songwriting where no element feels wasted, and emotionally raw lyrics balanced with tenderness.