ratthew

ratthew reviewed Melodrama by Lorde 14h

9.3

Melodrama: How It Feels To Be Utterly Alone In A Room Full Of People. The second studio album by singer Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, otherwise known as “Lorde”, is not just a collection of pop ballads infused with electronic synths. Melodrama is deeply intimate while maintaining a unique style of self-deprecating wit and teenager-esque exaggerations (otherwise dubbed as ‘Melodrama’.) The backdrop of Melodrama is a tale as old as time, but one wound that always feels fresh whenever you recall — that feeling of being alone. Lorde had recently turned 18 when she began creating Melodrama, a period often marked with graduating high school, and moving away from family — one she remarks on throughout the entire album. Lorde’s loneliness is not just felt, but slowly became as you reminisce upon your own life experiences. Although it sounds sad, Lorde manages to wrap you up in a gentle hug beneath all the layers of pity; the upbeat sonics of the more well known songs that weave in between the tracklist feeling like a peaceful reprieve for your ears as you cope with the depression fueled “Liability” and “Writer In The Dark”. The house party landscape imbedded with the albums lyricism and visuals is not just by accident. Lorde remarked that she often traveled in large cities, but felt like a complete loner. She observed all that happened, but never let herself get entwined with what she saw, settling for occasional retreats to rental houses to step away from noise. This album is not just all sadness and isolation however, as it operates on a cycle. You enter the house party with the opening track, “Green Light”, and party through the night with ghosts, sadness, and monsters, coping and facing all of your worries and regrets, before learning that you deserve happiness in the second last track, “Liability (Reprise)”, and seeing the morning light in “Perfect Places”, the final track. Melodrama is a masterpiece that helps beat you down but lets you get back up near the end, with a smile on your face and tears staining your cheeks. It’s not a happy ending, but a realization — one that everyone is entitled to. Standout Tracks: Green Light, Sober, The Lourve, Writer In The Dark, Supercut, and Perfect Places.

ratthew reviewed The Great Impersonator by Halsey 14h

9.4

Halsey & The Great Impersonator: What Catharsis Through Art Feels Like. Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, more famously known for her stage name “Halsey” has always endowed her work with a heavy sense of personalization; whether that be her Tumblr blogs where she originally gained fame, her 2015 debut album “Badlands”, or in the collection of her published poetry within her book: “I Would Leave Me If I Could”, and her most recent release “The Great Impersonator” is no stranger to this alluring and inspiring element of her work. In order to do the album some justice, it is important to understand the framework in which Halsey was working under while constructing this piece of art. She had recently left her longtime partner, bore a son, and had multiple health scares, including a cancer diagnosis. Although Halsey is healthy and living a happy life today, the album is littered with laments and what if’s — reasonably so — as she navigated the possibility of orphaning her only child. Halsey, although having put out a rock album previous to this album’s release, was first and foremost a pop star, but she had always dabbled in other genres, such as in “Ashley”’s ‘you should be sad’, which has a melodic yet melancholic country twist on a breakup anthem. Halsey’s main inspiration for this album’s sound wasn’t to just create, it was to curate a blend of songs that resembled loosely the influences that helped her become so successful in her music career, ranging from Amy Lee of Evanescence to Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, and even to Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie. Halsey’s prose shines the most superb on this collection, as her most interpersonal struggles are perfectly represented in songs such as “The End”, “I Believe in Magic”, and “Lucky”. Halsey takes brave strides toward grunge inside of “Lonely is the muse”, and even hints at her own musical talents inside of “Hurt Feelings”, a deeply sad yet relatable song for those of us who’ve struggled with parental abuse and neglect. Halsey’s expertise only continued to enrich as the years pass, and there were plenty of examples of that on this album. This is one of the most vulnerable and important albums I’ve yet to encounter, and I hope everyone listens to it with a sympathetic and sincere manner. Standout Tracks: Ego, Panic Attack, Lonely is the Muse, Arsonist, Hurt Feelings, and Lucky.

ratthew reviewed The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails 19h

9.7

Trent Reznor & A Descent Into Hell: The Album That Gave Industrial A Name. The Downward Spiral is not just a story, it is a comprehensive of insanity. The second studio album released by Nine Inch Nails, a one man band lead, sung, and performed by Trent Reznor, The Downward Spiral follows an unnamed protagonist descending into madness and succumbing to his declining mental health, beginning to harm others before he ultimately takes his life at the end of the album, metaphorically or literally depending on the listener’s interpretation. As a Psychology student, aiming to become a therapist, this album is not just about a man falling, it’s about the consequences that come with. The protagonist is disgusted by himself, he hates himself, but can’t stop indulging in the mistakes and negative coping mechanisms that give him brief peace of mind that end up hurting him and everyone around him. The protagonists depression and deep seated self hatred is not just felt, it is forced upon you with Trent Reznor’s lyricism and persistent, assaulting sound. There is not a single reprieve in The Downward Spiral, for even the instrumental has you anticipating that something bad will happen — and it does. The protagonists abuse of alcoholism, drug, and sex is something that is not shielded by his mythomania — which I view to be the worst part. He keeps letting himself go, keeps hurting everyone, all while fully acknowledging all in which he does. The ambiguity of The Downward Spiral also serves as a huge part of it’s charm. The protagonist has presumably suffered his own abhorrent abuses, particularly in Ruiner, where he speaks of a mysterious figure staining all that is pure in his world with their disease. If you are looking for an album where you witness someone fall into the depths of despair, where you feel not just sympathy, but also disgust, and guilt for both yourself and the protagonist of the story, The Downward Spiral is just right for you. Standout Tracks: Mr. Self Destruct, Piggy, Heresy, Closer, Ruiner, Reptile, and Hurt.

ratthew reviewed Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain 20h

9.9

Ethel Cain’s magnum opus; a haunting tale of violence and abuse justified through means of religion and generational trauma. Ethel Cain, Hayden Silas Anhedonia, released her debut album Preacher’s Daughter on May 12th of 2022, facing immediate gratification through critic lenses and quickly gathering a cult following who she aptly named “The Daughters of Cain”, a playful spin on her own stage name. Preacher’s Daughter is a concept story album about a young girl — Ethel Cain — who is currently suffering from depression, loneliness, and alcoholism. Ethel Cain’s father was a preacher who died before the story had begun, and his abuse of Ethel Cain, mainly sexual, remains a vocal point of Ethel Cain’s trauma as she embarks on a journey towards a better life, reminiscing on her one true love Willoughby Tucker, her abusive ex partner that was shot in a police holdup Logan Phelps, and her final and most Abhorrent partner, Isaiah Abram, who kidnaps, drugs, and cannibalizes Ethel Cain at the end of the album. The centerpiece of this album does not lie solely within the superb sound, that is full of southern goth paraphernalia, but also in the beautifully written lyrics that give the story complexity and depth. Ethel Cain is an unreliable narrator, and her perspective often meshes with the truth of matters that we see from outside parties. Ethel Cain is able to justify the most obvious and outrageous abuse with the same naivety that a lot of domestic violence victims including myself can relate to and catch. She is able to describe religious trauma to everyone who has suffered it in ways that make you either fall to your knees in despair, or drop your jaw in shock. The usage of metaphors and straightforward explanations leave no room for verbiage. Ethel Cain has crafted a masterclass in suspense, relatability, and tragedy. I deeply implore all of you who may see this review to give “Preacher’s Daughter” by Ethel Cain a careful listen, as you will not resist being hooked. Ethel Cain’s music and narrative is a drug unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. This is the single greatest concept and narrative album to ever lay waste to musical creation. I have aged 4 years since hearing Preacher’s Daughter, but not a day has passed where I’ve not sadly related to Ethel Cain, or thought of her. Standout Tracks: A House In Nebraska, Family Tree, Gibson Girl, Ptolemaea, Sun Bleached Flies, and Strangers.