It’s been three years since PUP released THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, their most recent LP, and it’s been two since they came out with a two-song single of album outtakes. Now, they’re back. PUP are gearing up for an arena tour with fellow Canadian pop-punk warriors Sum 41, and they’ve just dropped a new ripper on our unsuspecting heads.

PUP’s new song “Paranoid” is not a Black Sabbath cover, though Sabbath’s Paranoid cover art figures into PUP’s video. PUP recorded “Paranoid” with big-deal indie rock producer John Congleton, but it has none of the layered orchestration that I tend to associate with Congleton productions. Instead, this is a frayed, breakneck pop-punk anthem with hooks flying everywhere. Here’s what frontman Stefan Babcock says about the song:

My favurite part of this song is the breakdown 1:45 in. It’s the heaviest moment in the song, Zack and Steve are going so hard, I’m yelling about all this sad stuff that’s going on with me, and Nestor is just playing the melody from “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” on the bass. It cracks me up every time I hear it. So fucking funny. It’s a very PUP moment.

And as with so many other PUP singles, “Paranoid” has a great video. Directors Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux and Clem Hoener stage a small, sweaty, energetic PUP show at the Toronto venue Sneaky Dee’s. Dramatic things happen during this show, while the vertical camera inventively whips around, finding the lyrics from the song on band merch, flyers, bathroom graffiti, and various other unexpected surfaces. Check out the “Paranoid” video and PUP’s tour dates below.

TOUR DATES:
01/10 – Victoria, BC @ Save On Foods Memorial Centre ^
01/11 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^
01/13 – Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place ^
01/16 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome ^
01/17 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place ^
01/18 – Saskatoon, SK @ Sasktel Centre ^
01/20 – Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Place ^
01/23 – St. Catharines, ON @ Meridian Centre ^
01/24 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre ^
01/25 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell ^
01/27 – London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens ^
01/28 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena ^
01/30 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena ^
05/07 – Birmingham, UK @ XOYO Birmingham *&
05/08 – Leeds, UK @ Project House *&
05/10 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz *&
05/11 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 (TV Studio) *&
05/12 – Newcastle, UK @ Newcastle University *&
05/13 – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory *&
05/15 – Southampton, UK @ Engine Rooms *&
05/16 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town *&
05/18 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg *
05/20 – Cologne, Germany @ Club Volta *
05/21 – Hamburg, Germany @ Logo *
05/22 – Berlin, Germany @ Hole44 *
05/23 – Munich, Germany @ Strom *
05/25 – Paris, France @ Bellevilloise *
05/27 – Madrid, Spain @ Sala Mon
05/28 – Barcelona, Spain @ Upload
05/29 – València, Spain @ Loco Club
05/30 – San Sebastian, Spain @ Dabadaba

^ with Sum 41
* with Illuminati Hotties
& with Goo

“Paranoid” is out now on Diminishing Returns/Rise/BMG.