The other tracks on the EP include “Eventually (Love Is the Answer),” “It’s All Around You,” “Age of Idiocracy,” and an updated version of the previously released “Crossing the Finish Line.”
Although Kelley’s previous work as Ferocious Designs has been heavily reliant on keyboards, their use is minimal on Off You Pop! Instead, he opted to make it a guitar-oriented collection—despite near-zero skill as a guitar player.
“After power-pop legend Dwight Twilley passed away in October 2023, I found myself listening to that genre a lot,” said Kelley. “I was jealous of that sound so I wanted to see if I could create my own version of it despite my limitations on guitar.”
As a result of those limitations, the process for recording the songs for Off You Pop! was arduous for Kelley. “I basically recorded the guitar parts 1-4 bar segments at a time,” he said.
The opening track, “Precious Jewel,” is indirectly influenced by Twilley’s former bandmate Phil Seymour’s “Precious to Me” from his 1981 eponymous solo debut album. “Some elements of ‘Precious Jewel’ go back decades, but I finally recorded a full demo of it around the time of Twilley’s passing,” said Kelley. “Between that and the common word ‘precious’ in the titles, I started thinking about recording it as a power-pop song, or at least my take on the genre.
“And when it came out sounding pretty decent, I decided to try to record an entire EP like that,” added Kelley.
"Eventually (Love Is the Answer)" is a reworked version of a piano ballad originally written back in the 1980s. “While going through my archives for another project in 2024, I came across ‘Eventually…’ and thought, ‘Hmm, I think I can turn this into a power-pop song or something close to it,’" said Kelley. “However, the original bridge really didn't translate well to power-pop and was kind of cringey, so I replaced it with a semi-breakdown middle 8.”
"It's All Around You" was written in 2024 at a time when Kelley had a feeling the November election would go as it did. “I have to admit, though, the pessimism turned to optimism in the days leading up to that utterly depressing night, but I guess I mistakenly gave in to the belief that America would do the right thing when faced with a crisis — instead of choosing to douse a burning Hindenburg with gasoline and letting the whole flaming mess land on an ammonium nitrate facility,” said Kelley. “The song is about trying to survive a fascist nightmare by finding strength and hope within yourself and in the communities and support systems around you.”
"Age of Idiocracy" was written in January 2025. “As the cabinet picks for the incoming regime were announced, it quickly became apparent that these clowns were actually going to be far worse than their fictional counterparts who thought watering plants with a sports drink was a good idea,” said Kelley. “And, ooh boy, has that turned out to be prescient.”
Off You Pop! is available now to stream and download at FerociousDesigns.com.
The EP version of “Crossing the Finish Line” is slightly different from the one released as a single in November 2024, ahead of Kelley’s fifth and final Philadelphia Marathon. “It’s a song I started writing in my head during an agonizing final eight miles of my fourth Philadelphia Marathon in November 2023,” said Kelley. “A few months earlier, I nearly died from a malignant hyperthermia crisis and, at that stage of the marathon, I was feeling very old and broken so it became a race-themed rumination on mortality.”
While Kelley has no plans to continue exploring the power-pop genre with Ferocious Designs, that does not mean it will not be part of future releases. “I don’t really subscribe to having a single genre so who knows,” said Kelley. “But I feel this particular challenge was helpful in my development as an artist.”
Ferocious Designs is the DIY music project of central New Jersey-based songwriter Brian Kelley. Although he has spent most of the past 30-plus years as a songwriting hobbyist, Kelley is not a complete stranger to the New Jersey music scene. He is a longtime collaborator with singer-songwriter Christian Beach, spending time with him during the late 1980s and early 90s in a band that played the much-loved and long-gone Green Parrot Rock Club in Neptune, NJ, multiple times. Kelley has played keyboards, accordion and percussion in Beach's backing band since 2007, and has recorded with him as well. The project name is borrowed from the lyrics of “Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven)” by Marillion. The debut, five-song EP from Ferocious Designs, A Matter of Time, was released on July 16, 2021. That same day, the project’s debut single, “Lay It on the Line,” was named Makin Waves Song of the Week by longtime New Jersey music journalist Bob Makin.
Music written, performed and recorded by Brian Kelley. Free B-roll video by Videezy.com.
