Laurel Hell
★☆☆☆☆
Valentine, Texas starts off the album very cinematically, it has a great jump from an atmospherically ambient lullaby to an almost new-wave, synth-dominated piece with its industrial pulsing rhythm; which is rather confusing to me. the poetry is imaginatively graphic. it’s a yearning for getting away. the vocals sound given up, as if preparing for an pre-emptive departure.
her singing in Working For The Knife is so laid-back, the sounds once again resemble disco sounds for me. the driven guitar, cowbells, synthesized strings, huge reverb for the drums, and a screaming solo. the lyrics is AMAZING and I can’t stress this enough, so I just quote it down below:
I used to think I’d be done by 20
Now at 29, the road ahead appears the same
Though maybe at 30 I’ll see a way to change
That I’m living for the knife
I always thought the choice was mine
And I was right, but I just chose wrong
I start the day lying and end with the truth
I like the contrast between the upbeat arrangement with the pretty bleak lyrics.
Stay Soft includes a muted drum machine and a heavily present bass, with its sparse instrumentation, it clearly tries to honestly convey a message in a chilling matter-of-fact manner:
You stay soft, you get beaten
Only natural to harden up
Everyone continues with the 80s sounds. the vocals processing has not stayed the same so far, despite being “over-processed” in every track. they do sound different every time! it’s the weirdest one yet. it’s a slow burning confession, speaking of what she did, and where she went wrong. again with a simple pulsating bassline, the vocals are the main player. it’s raw, and she’s “telling” more than singing.
Heat Lightning, immediately reminds of Venus in Furs. sounds tribal but gradually grows into a more complemented modern pop arrangement. it has a more introspective, less frustrated, more word-y lyrics, delivering a sense of quiet, humble, desperate uncertainty:
So I give it up to you
I hope that’s okay
There’s nothing I can do
Not much I can change
I give it up to you
I surrender
The Only Heartbreaker is once again a disco-like upbeat piece with a singable chorus. a pretty vibrant synth pop piece, making it the most danceable track so far. the lyrics are however bleak, standing at a distance from the oblivious cheerfulness of the music.
the vocals on Love Me More sound very different. it explores our search for validation, and a safe net of expected behaviors. the driving beat fades, again shining the spotlight on the vocal performance. I like the main melody!
There’s Nothing Left For You reminds me of Ultravox, 80s again. it starts very quietly and walks slowly into the ear until the synth comes in. I actually like this one. it has strokes, suddenly turns into a full orchestra, and again into a quiet whisper. it ends vaguely. if the ending was more elaborate it could be my favorite, acting as a bridge between the more energetic tracks and the album’s quieter, more introspective moments.
Should’ve Been Me has a darker, almost sarcastic tone. a hazy, atmospheric synth soundscape with a steady funky bassline and once again the processed vocals feels like detachment. I love the ending! the descent feels though-out and on-point.
I Guess has a great text:
It’s been you and me since before I was me
… If I could keep anything of you, I would keep just this quiet after you
the atmosphere is also very fitting, it’s a short moment of cherishing the “what once was”, unlike the angry, regretful retrospective moment of “what could have been”. a cool breeze with a smile.
That’s Our Lamp is an odd title! nothing new, it’s “fine” but just another descriptive song about a fading love that once was. boring at even less than 3 minutes long. I hate that this piece ended the album, makes me feel left alone bamboozled.
pretty ordinary, with only a few attention-grabbing moment. the music sounds like 80s disco a lot, sometimes contrasting the bleak lyrics (but that gets old and boring very soon), but mostly to “just exist” while serving no purpose. it doesn’t take “risks”. no coherent theme, nothing new. nothing I’ll listen to again, except maybe There’s Nothing Left For You or Working For The Knife. the lyrics are way more studied than the music.