I really wasn’t sure whether I’d get this blog post up but I’d managed to write a good chunk of it and it seemed a shame to let it go unfinished. The last year has been a struggle and the last six months have been horrendous; my depression has been suffocating and has definitely impacted my ability to engage with and enjoy things. So there are fewer albums this year than there have been previously, fewer than I would’ve liked had all things been normal. I know the theme this year is debut albums but I’d already written a significant amount of this post before that was announced and, if I’m honest, I just don’t have it in me at the moment to completely rewrite this post. Life is hard right now; I’m doing the best I can.

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At War With The Silver Fish by Laura Jane Grace (September 2021) – One of the things I love about Laura Jane Grace’s music is how deeply it can vary; I’m not very good at identifying genres but each track sounded so different, which was really cool, especially when it’s only about fourteen minutes long in total. Some of the instrumentation and production I didn’t like but the parts that I did, I loved: I loved the instrumentation of ‘Electro-Static Sweep’; I loved the beat and the guitar and the gorgeous, hazy vibe of ‘Lolo 13’; and I loved the production of ‘Yesterday Pt. II.’ I also really liked a lot of the lyrics too. The opening line of ‘Three of Hearts’ – “Three of hearts, two of them are broken / One of them is gold, all of them are worthless” – which is the opening line of the EP, got me straight away. ‘Lolo 13’ was probably my favourite lyrically: I loved the detail, the visual imagery, and the dreamlike quality of the whole thing, with lines like, “I asked for your name three times / Just to make sure that I heard it right / You told me my jeans don’t fit right / Said that we should make out sometime,” “We met on a night / That my mind made up,” and “Does a mirror have two sides? / Are you waking up in your real life / Too much fun to have in this life / Will you find me on the other side?” I loved it. On listening to ‘Day Old Coffee,’ I burst out laughing because while I wouldn’t have phrased it as such, I definitely identified with the feeling and it was just kind of bizarre to hear that feeling stated so explicitly: “Day old coffee microwaved to boiling / Pour it on my eyeballs and boil my dumb shit brains out,” “‘Cause I don’t ever want to hear or think or speak again / I don’t ever want to hear or think or speak again,” and “What’s with all the questions? / To whom do I owe the pleasure? / To whom do I owe the obligation?” Like, it’s not a fun or funny feeling to experience but hearing it out loud shocked a laugh out of me. I kind of wish ‘Smug Fuckface’ had a different title since the song starts on such a different emotional note, which would make the twist halfway through that much more surprising. It’s a really interesting little song: it’s less than two minutes long but it covers such a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts. It’s a really cool little EP and I look forward to whatever Laura Jane Grace creates next.

Favourite Tracks: ‘Lolo 13’ and ‘Smug Fuckface.’

It’s Hard To Be Human by Kina Grannis (October 2021) – I’ve been listening to Kina Grannis on and off since approximately 2011 and some of her songs, particularly ‘California,’ have had pretty dramatic impacts on my life so I was very excited to find out that she was releasing a new album and one with a title that felt very fitting for my state of mind at the time (and quite a long time afterwards). Sometimes, if I haven’t listened to her music for a while, I seem to forget just how deeply her music affects me. She’s an incredible writer; I have no idea how she isn’t more famous, isn’t a superstar (one of her own design though, not one molded by others). I loved almost every single song on the album.

I’d heard Future Memories before hearing the album and it’s so beautiful with the delicate guitar and vocal. The lyrics are just so heartbreaking (“We watch the leaves unfolding quietly / No tugging at the time or way of things / And we mirror both the growth and withering”) and the evolution of the story throughout the song (from “We’re in the garden smiling / I didn’t notice how much love I’ve known” to “We’re in the garden laughing / I didn’t notice how much you had grown” to “He’s in the garden crying / I didn’t notice yet that I had gone”) is so beautifully done.

‘It’s Hard To Be Human’ is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s sad but also warm and comforting and I know I’ll listen to this in the future while in tears, for both good and bad reasons. The lyrics are stunning (“We just keep spinnin’ and everyone’s hurt / Both of us talking but no one feels heard,” “It’s hard to be human and hard to grow up / I just keep trying and keep messin’ up / And maybe I’m learnin’ and findin’ my way / But how could I feel this and still be okay?” and “I’m sittin’ here, starin’ at the gutter / Wonderin’ why I feel sorry for myself / If we keep hurtin’ one another starts to color / How we’re doin’ it to ourselves”) and I loved her description of spontaneous songwriting: “Can you pull the car over? I need to slow down / Get some words lined up and see how they sound.” It’s so real and raw. The structure of the song is interesting; what sounds like a prechorus when first sung repeats as the final section of the song. It’s so beautiful and feels so profound: “I know you never wanna get me down / But it’s a steep road I’m walkin’ on / You know I never wanna get you down / But it’s a bit late, now.” It’s the promise we make to people we love but not everyone can keep it.

Another stunning song is ‘Love Anyway.’ The lyrics were just gorgeous; they flowed beautifully and all of the internal rhyming made me so happy (what can I say – I’m a songwriting nerd). I loved all of the imagery: “I woke to a bitter scene / The whole world was crumblin’ / I cried to the guileless moon / The wolves came to comfort me / And just as I fell asleep / I heard they were crying too,” “As dewdrops and morning fell / The sun came and wished me well,” “I sat in the broken weeds / And wove them into tapestries,” and “Feeling that we are all the same / All of one heartbeat, different names.” And the bridge is just stunning: the lyrics build beautifully (from “How do we get to the other side of this?” to “How do we get through the fight in it?” to “How do we get to the light in it?”), as do the vocals and harmonies, making it a deeply emotional and uplifting section. The only snag for me is that I find the chorus line a little cliché, something that’s just a bit more noticeable when the rest of the lyrics are so well crafted.

While ‘Quiet’ didn’t connect with me as deeply as some of the others, I thought it built beautifully and powerfully (in the emotional sense) throughout the song and I loved the mention to her album, Stairwells: “I never knew where I belonged / Searched for myself in every song / But I’d had it in the stairwells all along.” I thought that was gorgeous.

‘I Never Wanted Anything More Than I Wanted You’ broke my heart on first listen. The lyrics were so emotional and I immediately thought it was about wanting a baby, something (as well as infertility, IVF, and more recently the birth of her daughter) that Kina has talked about on social media over the years. When I looked it up later, Genius stated: “Kina Grannis and her husband Jesse Epstein have been open about their fertility struggles and their miscarriage in the past, and “I Never Wanted Anything More Than I Wanted You” is about the couple’s miscarriage of their dearly anticipated daughter. The song details Kina’s struggles with the loss, her tiredness from the grief, and the couple’s dreams of a family.” And, in the description of the music video, Kina wrote: “The first time these words came out of my mouth I immediately started crying. There’s something powerful that happens when you admit to yourself out loud the extent to which you are yearning for something, the extent to which you are hurting. It can break your heart into a million little pieces, but somehow that’s better than the pressure cooker of trying to dismiss your emotions and make them smaller. Acknowledging and respecting where I was at allowed me to fully step into my heartache and give myself permission to feel all these things, and in some ways it was a first step in realizing I needed to be a bit kinder to myself, too. This is a song about yearning and loss and the delicate balance of trying to accept the path you’re on while not letting it rob you of hope in the process.” That only made it more heartbreaking. It’s a beautiful, beautiful song but it’s just so sad; I hate to think of her feeling the way the song describes. I could probably include all of the lyrics but the ones that hit me the hardest were “I’m at my lowest, caught in a moment / Tryna to get over this,” “I feel you in the sea, washing over me / Something in the movin’ tides / Every fallen leaf seems to say to me / ‘Everything in time,'” and the chorus line of “I never wanted anything more than I wanted you” just, as I said, breaks my heart. The piano part is gorgeous too and fits the song perfectly.

‘Oh What A Love’ is a gorgeous little love song. It has some really stunning imagery (my favourite is “Oh what a love we have / Watched as it sank under water”) and some beautifully simple statements that, to me at least, make love songs all the more poignant, like “Our love is our love.” It sounds lovely too, with some exquisite layering of instruments, vocals, and backing vocals.

While the choruses of ‘Crawl’ didn’t quite land for me, I love what Kina has written about it: “This song is about the chapter that comes after the knockdown – the chapter where you start to come to again, and though you’re weak and hollowed out and broken, you’re ready to start trying to put the pieces back together. To me, it feels like the beginning of healing. Or maybe the beginning of being WILLING to heal. It’s about baby steps and celebrating the small wins and giving yourself grace on the occasions you might momentarily stumble back into the dark. ‘Crawl’ found its way to me in a dire moment and served as a little mantra I could sing to myself as I ever-so-slowly trudged my way back to myself.” I can definitely relate to that sentiment. To all of it. Of the song itself, I really loved the verses: I thought the lyrics, and the imagery in them, were just beautiful. The first verse in particular resonated so deeply: “Knock on the door / I’m afraid of all the things / That I am not anymore” and “Just like before / I am scattered trying to find the parts of me / On the floor.” And the second verse was just as gorgeous: “You and the stars / Make a list of pretty things to fill my day / Bless your heart” and “You deal the cards / And it’s better when I seem to drift away / From the dark.”

‘Another Way’ is another of the album highlights, along with ‘It’s Hard To Be Human,’ ‘Love Anyway,’ and ‘I Never Wanted Anything More Than I Wanted You.’ And like ‘It’s Hard To Be Human,’ it has a deep and moving message, one that’s easy to forget in the chaotic world we’re trying to navigate: “Maybe this could be / Exactly what should be.” The lyrics in the verses are simple but powerful, demonstrating how we can turn our obsessive worrying on its head: “How would you know if what you’re needing / Isn’t something you’re not seeing / What if you lost the chance to be what you could be,” “How would you know that something better / Wasn’t waiting for bad weather / To soak its seeds, to give you everything you need,” and “How would you know if someone wiser / Wasn’t forging in these fires / What if you’d washed away what could’ve set you free.” I’m not sure how well they translate on paper (or simply as text) but, paired with the melody, the song is really beautiful. And I liked that the bridge wasn’t preach-y. Rather than trying to tell the listener how to change their thinking, she’s simply and gently opening the door to the possibility that we don’t have to worry the way we do. That’s the first step: “So what if we choose that we’ll let go of / All the things we’ve no control of / What if we learn to love whatever comes to be.” It’s a gorgeous song, another gorgeous song on a gorgeous album.

This has gotten long but it’s a beautiful album and I highly recommend it.

Favourite Tracks: ‘It’s Hard To Be Human,’ ‘Love Anyway,’ ‘I Never Wanted Anything More Than I Wanted You,’ ‘Oh What A Love, ‘ ‘Crawl,’ and ‘Another Way.’

Season Two by Jaz Beeson (October 2021) – There’s something gorgeously cohesive about this body of work, sonically and lyrically, with its lively production, catchy melodies, and light, delicate vocals. I thought ‘Short, Sweet Summer’ was a cool introduction to the project, hazy and atmospheric (although a bit sonically busy for my personal taste). I liked the concept, as well as the concepts of ‘Midnight Crush’ and ‘Honey & Sunflower Seeds’ (although the bridge made me sad) in particular. There was a lot of stunning imagery and beautiful lyrical details, especially in ‘Honey & Sunflower Seeds,’ ‘Feel Alive,’ ‘Coffee Machine Sounds’ (I loved the sense of urgency in this song, conveyed both through the lyrics and the production), and ‘Wanna Know.’ I also really liked the melodic rhythms and uplifting vibe in the latter. It was a really great choice for a single. The one thing that I struggled with it, throughout the tracklist, was that I wish the vocals were a little higher in the mix because I felt like I was missing the lyrics at certain points, which was a shame when I was enjoying the lyrics so much.

Favourite Tracks: ‘Short, Sweet Summer,’ ‘Wanna Know,’ and ‘Coffee Machine Sounds.’

Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift (November 2021) – After my experience with Fearless (Taylor’s Version), I was prepared to feel somewhat thrown by the differences between the original tracks and rerecordings and thrown I was: the drum and electric guitar sounds in ‘State Of Grace (Taylor’s Version)’; the electric guitar in ‘I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version)’; the electric guitar sounds in ‘All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)’; the guitars and vocal effects in ’22 (Taylor’s Version)’; the chorus vocals in ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version)’; the messiness of the dueting vocals in ‘The Last Time (Taylor’s Version) [feat. Gary Lightbody]’ (and while their vocals aren’t bad, I’d rank them lowest on the album when they were some of my favourites on the original album); the vocal effects in ‘Begin Again (Taylor’s Version)’; oh, and the complete re-production of ‘Girl At Home (Taylor’s Version)’ surprised me (sometimes I think I’m the only person who likes the original production). I don’t dislike it but as fun as it is, I think I preferred the original. Not a hill I feel the need to die on though; both are good.

That’s not to say that they don’t sound good; I just felt like the changes were very noticeable. ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’, ‘All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘Sad Beautiful Tragic (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘The Moment I Knew (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘State Of Grace (Acoustic Version) (Taylor’s Version),’ and ‘Ronan (Taylor’s Version)’ all sound incredible, particularly the vocals. And I feel like the backing vocals are even more gorgeous on this version of the album than the original. But then Taylor’s vocals have come a long way over the last ten years.

The vault tracks – almost a whole new album’s worth of songs – are awesome. They fill out the story and provide so much more insight into the relationship and the situation, even more than I thought possible, especially given how incredibly raw the original album felt. The themes of the album are reinforced, the imagery more vivid, the details of the story even more heartbreaking with the new context: the songs are all so intricately interwoven. ‘Better Man (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)’ is really powerful (although I did find the melody changes a bit jarring) and it’s so cool to have Taylor’s version of it. ‘Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Phoebe Bridgers]’ is stunning but heart-wrenching: I definitely relate, both in terms of growing up and in terms of the music industry. It breaks my heart that Taylor was feeling like this at twenty two and as beautiful as the song is, I am personally kind of glad that it wasn’t released on the original album because knowing Taylor was feeling that way would’ve been devastating; I found ‘The Lucky One’ upsetting enough as it was. It’s not so bad hearing it now, given that Taylor seems to be in a hugely creative and positive place in her life, despite everything that’s happened. I am glad that we finally have a female-female duet, especially one that’s making such an important point about what it’s like to be a woman in the music industry. I’ve always loved ‘Babe’ so it’s really cool to hear Taylor’s version of it and the “What about your promises, promises, babe?” backing vocal is an interesting addition that distinguishes it from the original release. ‘Message In A Bottle (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)’ is really fun but I definitely think Taylor made the right choice when she chose the three Martin/Shellback collaborations; I just think those three are tighter and convey the themes of the album better. ‘I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Chris Stapleton]’ cracks me up; when I first heard the lyric, “I bet you think about me in your house / With your organic shoes and your million-dollar couch,” sung with such petulance, I burst out laughing. While I tend to prefer the sadder songs, I think it’s a brilliantly petty response to a relationship where her partner clearly belittled her and thought himself superior. And the music video is hilarious. ‘Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)’ is probably my least favourite vault track, I think because the contrast between the serious subject matter and the upbeat music just doesn’t work for me. I think it’s lovely in how heartfelt it is but I don’t think it’s as lyrically sophisticated as most of the other songs on the album and in the Red vault. I really liked ‘Run (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Ed Sheeran]’ and it’s my favourite of Taylor’s collaborations with Ed Sheeran (although I can understand why she chose ‘Everything Has Changed’ for the original album); I love how delicate it sounds. ‘The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)’ wasn’t a favourite initially but it’s grown on me over time. While the chorus feels a little clichéd in places, I love the imagery and detail in the verses and pre-choruses, plus the melodies are super catchy.

And then we have ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault).’ I don’t think I can describe my thoughts and feelings about it any better than I did in my 2021 in Songs post: “I could talk about this song forever but I’ll try to be concise. The lyrics are beautiful, some of her best, and they tell us so much more of the story than the original cut. It connects to so many songs on the album, even more than it did before, and really broadens our understanding of both that time and what came after. I also love how naturally it flows through different phases of emotion (the fondness, the longing, the loss, the confusion, the shame, the anger, the pain, the invalidation, the grief…) without losing its way. And I think part of why it means so much to me (apart from my original attachment to the song and the album) is because of how, emotionally, it mirrors an experience I had. Lyrics like “And I was thinking on the drive down, any time now / He’s gonna say it’s love, you never called it what it was / ‘Til we were dead and gone and buried / Check the pulse and come back swearing it’s the same,” “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath,” “You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine / And that made me want to die / The idea you had of me, who was she? / A never-needy, ever-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you,” and “Time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it / I’d like to be my old self again, but I’m still trying to find it” all bring back memories of that person and that time and while it was heartbreaking and traumatic, it is part of who I am. I think being able to pour all of that emotion into a song – and a song that good – is an incredible feat.”

Something that I love about getting vault tracks with each album rerecorded is that, while the rerecording of the albums allow her to retake the masters, the vault tracks – with their new details, new layers, new perspectives – allow her to retake the narrative. Every album tells a story and she’s making that story her own again.

Favourite Tracks: ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’, ‘I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘Sad Beautiful Tragic (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘Starlight (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘The Moment I Knew (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘Ronan (Taylor’s Version),’ ‘Better Man (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),’ ‘Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Phoebe Bridgers],’ ‘Babe (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),’ ‘Run (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) [feat. Ed Sheeran],’ ‘The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),’ and ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault).’

Thrive by Cassadee Pope (October 2021) – I get so nostalgic when I listen to Cassadee Pope. I remember being sixteen and listening to ‘Candles’ and anxiously awaiting her solo EP a year later when it was delayed for release on iTunes by a few days. I remember combing YouTube for videos during her pre-Frame by Frame tour and falling in love with ‘I Wish I Could Break Your Heart,’ ‘This Car,’ and ‘Easier to Lie,’ in particular. I remember hearing Emily Shackelton performing ‘Summer’ at Tin Pan South, the first year I visited Nashville, and then being so excited when I heard Cassadee would be releasing it… Looking back, I’m kind of amazed at how long I’ve been listening to her. There aren’t many artists that I’ve listened to so consistently for so long. There’s something so fundamentally her about her music; I’d recognise a song of hers from the moment she started singing. I love her sound: a unique mix of pop, pop-rock, and country (I believe she was quoted as saying “this pop-punk country record that has country lyrics and storylines, but leans a little bit more pop-rock, pop-punk when it comes to sonically and melodies”). And I love the production: the guitar sounds are gorgeous and her vocals are stunning as always (apart from ‘No Now,’ which sounded a bit strained but the vocal recording sounded different from the others so maybe the recording process was different for that song). The album is full of great songs: ‘Same Old Brand New Me’ and ‘Thrive’ are awesome and empowering; songs like ‘Say It First,’ ‘Break Too,’ and ‘No Now’ are so sad but so real; and songs like ‘Some People’ have that classic Cassadee sass.

Favourite Tracks: ‘Welcome,’ ‘Same Old Brand New Me,’ ‘Say It First,’ ‘Break Too,’ ‘Thrive,’ ‘Some People,’ ‘Remedy,’ and ‘No Now.’

10 Year Plan by The Shires (March 2022) – There’s a lot I like about this album: the melodies are great, they’re great vocalists, and some of the songs have some lovely concepts that play out beautifully (‘Side By Side,’ ’10 Year Plan,’ and ‘A Bar Without You,’ for example). I also really liked the production in a lot of the songs, like ‘I See Stars’ and ‘A Bar Without You’ (although the latter doesn’t feel very country); it felt really full and rich. Having said that, Ben and Crissie didn’t sound as consistently gorgeous as they usually do. In songs like ‘Cut Me Loose,’ ‘Sparks Fly,’ ‘I See Stars,’ and ‘When It Hurts,’ they sound great, separately and together (one of my favourite things about them is how great they sound together), there were other songs where I just felt like they didn’t sound like themselves at all. In ‘Plot Twist,’ Crissie doesn’t sound like herself and in ’10 Year Plan,’ Ben doesn’t sound like himself either. I believe they said the album was recorded remotely and I wonder if that’s the cause since I’ve never felt tripped up by their sound before.

I think the inclusion of ‘Peggy I’m Sorry (Demo)’ is really interesting because the style of the songwriting is so different to how they usually write. Over the last few albums, I’ve struggled with many of the songs feeling somewhat vague, like they could be about anyone; they just don’t feel real to me and so I find it hard to feel invested in the songs and the stories they’re telling. They sound great but the emotional attachment isn’t the same as it is with writers/artists like Taylor Swift and Maren Morris, for example. I think this song (and certain other songs from previous albums like ‘Nashville Grey Skies,’ ‘Made in England,’ and ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’) is an example that they could write more specifically and personally with the same (and possibly more) success. I’ve just been finding the typical love songs and clichés a bit tiring when they’ve already proved that they’re capable of more – of more depth – than that.

Overall though, while I have mixed feelings about this album, I do like it more than the last one.

Favourite Tracks: ‘Cut Me Loose,’ ‘Side by Side,’ ’10 Year Plan,’ ‘A Bar Without You,’ ‘Peggy I’m Sorry (Demo),’ and ‘When It Hurts.’

Humble Quest by Maren Morris (March 2022) – I was a little unsure about this album since the first single, ‘Circles Around This Town,’ took a while to grow on me but from my first listen-through, I loved it. I loved that you can hear ‘echoes’ of Hero and Girl but there’s also a new sound that’s unique to this new album; it felt like the growth was very organic and very authentic. ‘Circles Around This Town’ felt like the perfect first single and first track on the album, reflecting on the past, building on it with the present, and looking to the future with lyrics like “I still got the pedal down” and “I still get lost, I still get found.” It just felt really fitting. Her vocals are as gorgeous as always (‘Background Music’ and ‘Nervous’ stood out in particular) and there are some absolutely stunning lyrics (‘Humble Quest,’ ‘Background Music,’ and ‘What Would This World Do?’ jump out at me but most of the songs have at least one pure gold lyric) – sometimes I think they get overlooked because she has such an incredible voice. And something that instantly jumped out at me was that there was more of her signature wit and sass than there was on Girl, in general but specifically in songs like ‘I Can’t Love You Anymore’ and ‘Tall Guys.’ I also feel like some of her cowrites are quite recognisable at this point. Like, I just knew ‘Nervous’ was a Natalie Hemby cowrite, with it’s wordplay and melodic rhythms and it didn’t surprise me at all to learn that ‘Tall Guys’ and ‘Good Friends’ were too; their songs just sound like their songs. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just something that I felt like I could actually put my finger on now that we’ve reached album three.

‘Humble Quest’ is easily my favourite song and it was from the moment I heard it. The lyrics are just gorgeous and so real and relatable; I really, really felt it. Lyrics like “Haven’t looked up in a while / Been biting my tongue behind a smile,” “Just kept hitting my head on the glass / I was so nice till I woke up / I was polite till I spoke up,” “I’m on a humble quest / And damn I do my best / Not gonna hold my breath / ‘Cause I still haven’t found it yet,” and “Standing up was enough of a battle / How do I not cast a shadow? / I’m a hell of a hassle” all resonated so deeply. And I like that it doesn’t resolve – “I still haven’t found it yet” – because I’m not sure it’s something we ever definitively find. We get closer (hopefully) to figuring our shit out but I don’t think we ever completely get there and there’s something comforting about hearing that, about being reminded of that. Maren sounds incredible and the arrangement is just gorgeous; I love a lot of her songs but this one might just take the cake.

Favourite Tracks: ‘Circles Around This Town,’ ‘Humble Quest,’ ‘Nervous,’ ‘Tall Guys,’ ‘Good Friends,’ and ‘What Would This World Do?’

hopeless fountain kingdom (Live From Webster Hall) by Halsey (June 2022) – hopeless fountain kingdom might be my least favourite Halsey album (because one of the four has to come in fourth) but I was so excited for this album; the studio version was a grower rather than love-at-first-listen and it was the tour that really had me falling in love with it. So getting to hear the songs ‘live’ again is so special. Halsey’s vocals are incredible and I love the way she speaks or even shouts certain lines, like “I don’t let him touch me anymore” in ‘100 Letters,’ giving them even more power. And the strength of the crowd singing along is so special, especially when it’s just Halsey and the crowd; that sends shivers down my spine. I loved hearing the songs that Halsey never (or rarely) performed live and I thought that this version of ‘Lie’ with the bridge of ‘Without Me’ was so cool.

As I said when writing about the Badlands live album, it’s hard to differentiate between my favourite songs on the original album and my favourite tracks on the live album because they’re not necessarily the same but I’ve tried to pick my favourites based on the performances rather than the writing…

Favourite Tracks: ‘The Prologue,’ ‘100 Letters,’ ‘Eyes Closed,’ ‘Heaven In Hiding,’ ‘Leave It On The Floor – Talking Break,’ ‘Sorry,’ ‘Lie,’ ‘Walls Could Talk,’ ‘Bad At Love,’ ‘A Cry That You Answered – Talking Break,’ ‘Strangers,’ ‘Angel On Fire,’ ‘Devil In Me’ (I think this one was my favourite performance of all), and ‘Hopeless.’

Good Person by Ingrid Andress (August 2022) – I loved Ingrid’s first album, Lady Like, so I was very excited to hear her second. I was actually lucky enough to be invited to the listening session in London a few months before it came out, which was a really special experience. So I had heard a few of the songs before I sat down to listen to the album but it was still mostly a new experience, whereas, with Lady Like, I’d heard almost the whole album before it came out.

This album has a stronger pop slant than the previous album, especially when it comes to the production; it’s gorgeous and atmospheric and really suits her voice and her songs. Thinking about production choices, I particularly loved ‘Good Person,’ ‘Seeing Someone Else,’ ‘Talk,’ ‘No Choice,’ and ‘Pain.’ The imagery in her songwriting is still very emotive and powerful, reminiscent of the strengths of ‘More Hearts Than Mine. Her use of imagery throughout the album is beautiful and it was something that struck me right from the first listen. The other thing that struck me was how, even with only two albums, the ‘Ingrid-isms’ are already becoming clear, from the twist in ‘Seeing Someone Else,’ to the sassy repetition of “How honest do you want me to be?” to little twists in her lyrics. Her writing is recognisably hers.

Something I’ve noticed a lot recently is the lack of bridges (or middle eights, if that’s what you know them as) in songs and I think that’s really sad. They can really elevate a song, bringing it to a whole new level, which I think was proven by the songs that did have bridges, like ‘Yearbook,’ ‘No Choice’ and ‘Blue.’ That’s not to say that the songs without bridges are bad because they’re not; I just think it’s worth noting how great the songs with bridges are and how the bridges add to those songs.

My top three songs are unquestionably ‘Blue’ (I’ve been waiting for her to release this song since she performed it on tour pre-Lade Like), ‘Things That Haven’t Happened Yet’ (this song was probably the most relatable to me, although I would’ve ended it differently), and ‘Seeing Someone Else.’ To give you a sneak peak of my 2022 in Songs post, here’s what I wrote about the latter: “From the moment the first chorus came in and the twist in the narrative was revealed, I just loved this song because having someone you love fall in love with someone else is horrible and sad but having someone you love love the person that you used to be but aren’t anymore is so heartbreaking. And a less common theme found in songs. I loved the storytelling, I loved the vocals, I loved the production. I do wish it had a bridge though; I think it could’ve gone in a couple of different, really interesting directions that would’ve added another layer to the song.”

Lady Like will always have a special place in my heart but this is also a very special album.

Favourite Tracks: ‘Seeing Someone Else,’ ‘How Honest Do You Want Me To Be?’ ‘No Choice,’ ‘Blue,’ and ‘Things That Haven’t Happened Yet.’

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One of the hardest parts of the last few months has been my inability to enjoy anything, to enjoy music. I hope that that will change soon.