Choke (Poppy EP)

Poppy began using metal influences on her 2018 album Am I a Girl?. Notably, "X", the final song from the album.[5] Poppy initially created the song "Voicemail" as a follow-up to "X", before eventually amalgamating enough material for a full extended play.[1] Poppy said "Voicemail" was chosen to be the lead single to bridge "X" to Choke because "we saw that visual [the black and white music video] so strongly that I think it needed to tell the story next." To promote the single, Poppy created a phone number where fans could leave a voicemail to her.[1]

On June 19 of the same year, the EP became available for pre-order. Simultaneously, the project's title track was released as its third single. In an interview with the music criticism site Gigwise, the singer revealed that the project was originally intended to be called Meat, after the fourth track, but she decided to abandon the idea and rename it Choke, choosing the cover where the singer is portrayed upside down with inclined legs and arms.[1]

A physical cassette release of the EP was released on July 26, 2019.[6]

On the genre change, Poppy commented "I feel that with pop music I never fit into that space as well. There wasn't exactly something that classifies me as pop other than me saying, 'this is pop music'. It wasn't something I sat down and tried to formulaically explore and figure out what a successful pop song is and I will copy that. I was going off of instinct for the first two albums, telling my story of pop the way I wanted it to be told. But I always felt with pop music if there's a room for the outsiders then I would be sitting in the hallway outside of that room. And I don't think it was something, the current state of the genre, that I could surmise trying to entertain much longer."[1]

American music blog Ones to Watch described the EP as a modern metal version of Marina and the Diamonds' Electra Heart.[3] British site Gigwise compared the chords and bass used throughout the project to Nine Inch Nails.[1]

"Voicemail" was released as the first single from the EP on January 31, 2019, alongside a black and white music video for the track.[7] The title of the single was announced in an interview with Forbes magazine on January 25, days before the song's release. Poppy told Gigwise the song was created "in a couple of hours" with collaborator Titanic Sinclair and had been inspired by "a couple of very interesting messages" which had been left on a number Poppy had invited fans to leave voicemails on.[1]

"Scary Mask" was released as the EP's second single, featuring rock band Fever 333. The track and music video were released on May 29, 2019, after being teased through Poppy's YouTube channel.[8] Talking to Paper Magazine, Poppy said the song is about "wearing your scary mask when you feel like you don't belong" and that it was written the same day she was at the American Music Awards.[9]

"Choke" is the third and final single from the EP, also acting as the title track for the record. The song was first premiered on BBC Radio 1 on June 16, 2019, before its release to streaming platforms three days later on June 19.[2]

Credits adapted from Apple Music.[10]