#the original song is sonically upbeat with some kinda dark lyrics and then you have the ripped away version

[bmpmp3]

Here's a suggestion for fellow fans of listening to a song on repeat for hours to imagine a cool animatic or music video to it: if a song has multiple versions like a cool cover or an acoustic version or a remix or a recording in a different genre or a reprise, make a short playlist with the different versions in a narratively satisfying order so when you listen to that on loop for hours you can think about sequel music videos to the original imaginary music video like it's a series

[bandsanitizer]

hi alison!!! this idea is so so cute, music is such a love language of mine. i would love love a standard playlist based on luke, and kind of the transition between winter to spring!! sorry if that doesn't make sense haha what i mean basically is kinda like feeling warmth come after a cold situation and finding comfort in that !! some artists that i think would match are paper kites and maybe phoebe bridgers, i'm listening to a lot of taylor swift stuff now too !!! recently i've been so in love with the seasons even though the place where i live barely shows it through weather haha i like to fantasize 🥰 anyway i'm so sorry this is very long but i appreciate u very much xoxo i hope you have an amazing day.

hello there!!!! ahhhh I appreciate you too 💖 and no worries!!! the more information the better! I sincerely hope you enjoy the playlist!!! thank you so much for sending in a request and thank you for introducing me to phoebe bridgers (who I have just learned is not the same person as phoebe waller-bridge???) and the paper kites!!! here is some background on the song choices! have an amazing day!!!!

okay, before I get into the individual songs, the halfway point is meant to serve as a distinct break between winter and spring. seasons don’t automatically switch, so consider it as a bit of a gradient. essentially, the first 5 tracks are songs that feel cold to me (no I can’t really explain that), and the last five are songs that are warmer (again can’t verbalize it). this comes from your prompt for a winter to spring sort of vibe! also i can’t explain how luke fits into this as anything more than CALM era luke has been acoustic! acoustic! acoustic! so just a lot of songs on here I wouldn’t mind him covering 👀

are you okay? - winter makes me think of staying in. more phone calls and distance as everyone is home for the holidays, busy with family, etc etc. this song sounds like a call and this repetition of “are you okay?” I think sets up for how the playlist progresses. with there being this sense of passed time

bandaids - keshi!!! I was introduced to this artist by another 5sos blog and you!!! listen!!! to!!! keshi!!! too!!! so I felt it fit. it is lyrically a pair with are you okay? with there being this ask for the person the song is about to inform the speaker what’s going on. thus it’s on the playlist for similar reasons as the prior song + it sounds nice.

I Will Follow You Into The Dark - ok so originally heard this as a halsey x yungblud cover and i’m upset i couldn’t add that but this one is also very good! where the other songs are asking something of the subject of the song, this song offers something in exchange. it’s a bit of a response to the “how are you?” in the sense of being willing to carry whatever they say is going on. winter vibes because it’s a bit sad and winter sometimes is sad—if considered in a more cold, grey sort of sense.

Hunger - UPBEAT!!!! EXCITEMENT!!! this is a hint of the spring that is coming!!! it’s this acknowledgement of this drive! this spark! it’s not very cold, a bit warm really, and just meant to add a bit of brightness to the winter half of this! this one is one of the least fitting I think sonically, so a little nervous.

If We Make It Through December - phoebe bridgers at your suggestion and a fitting title as the playlist transitions!!! kind of meant to capture what you asked in the prompt as well as provide hope and sparks in a way that’s softer than Hunger. a return to the earlier playlist sound.

Human - this song is the equivalent of leaching body heat from someone else like cuddling and shoving your cold toes under their leg or a hug from behind because IT’S COLD!!!! anyways—this is human connection at its finest and a warm/cold sort of song about asking to share something with someone. fitting for spring as a time of beginnings and stuff!

Nights Like These - also a bit of a sonic outlier, I’m not entirely sure how to explain this. it’s this sense of those people who you can spend so long away from and come back to and it just *snaps* falls back into place. like nothing changed. i think that’s an important and special connection to have that also fits with spring. where the early songs of the playlist ask how the person is, this asks about what they’ve done and searches for the good, the light.

Forever & Always - a love song about passing time and people that change but stay together! very spring as it follows coming out of winter and being different but also being forever!! also it just sounds??? soft??? nice???!

Invisible String - taylor swift as you mentioned!! invisible string is MAJOR spring vibes (okay maybe autumn too but SPRING cos all the colors mentioned in the song) also where the playlist title comes from!!! it summarizes the playlist in having gone through so much to arrive to now and notice the moments that set you on the way.

Bloom - the paper kites also from you! obvious spring ties with the title! also lyrically contrasts the distance that I feel like the earlier songs on the playlist allude to. also the guitar just feels so warm on this track!!! the vocals too!!! a very dawn/sunrise-esque type of song. and it kind of feels like an extension of invisible string!

[stopreadingthisanddance]

2018 top albums

Okay, so hopefully you read (& enjoyed listening to) my top EPs list, this one is a little longer, and hopefully a little prettier. They’re ranked 10 -> 1, with my honourable mentions up front here. I hope you enjoy at least some of the music I loved this year, and don’t find my writing unbearable. Once again, I’ve included spotify links for each album if and youtube links for my favourite tracks of each album. 

honourable mentions:

alison wonderland - awake/remxies

standouts: good enough & no (umru & kid froopy remix)

This was really tough for me to place, it would have likely made it onto the top 10 list had it not been for how much I loved the remix album that accompanied this album, and including both felt like cheating. Despite her trap banger roots, Alison Wonderland manages to hit that dance/cry sweet spot over and over on this project, from the manic banger Good Enough, with her gorgeous cello backed by an anxiety inducing rising bassline, to the anxious "is it good enough!?" ringing out, to hip-hop influenced High, to the big room trap banger that is Happy Place. It's got all of that and more on the base album, and the collection of remixes that were done afterward by her contemporaries managed to even further diversify the track list, while still keeping enough of the original to be recognizable. Even if you don't like electronic music, listen to No (umru & Kid Froopy Remix) and tell me that xylophone lead isn't catchy as all hell.

ross from friends - family portrait

standout: pale blue dot

A mainstay in the lo-fi house scene, Ross From Friends released his first full length project this year, and it gave everything I had hoped. Lovely, danceable grooves, ace production, and the feeling of being transported, if momentarily, to another plane of existence. If you have even the slightest inclination towards electronic music, check out Pale Blue Dot.

joji - ballads 1

standout: rip

The transition George Miller aka Filthy Frank aka joji has made throughout his young career is pretty spectacular. From absurdist comedy to the angsty, low key R&B on this project is pretty amazing, and while he certainly exhibits a lot of similar traits to the S A D B O Y aesthetic that has taken over mainstream hip-hop the last few years, he does it with enough of his own flavour that it's hard to discount that it is his. RIP and Attention are two of the most overtly sad songs I've heard in a long time, both in lyrical content, as well as production and the slurring and gravely vocal delivery. While tracks like Can't Get Over You throw in some needed dancey beats, while still maintaining that raw emotional delivery and content that defines this project so much.

top 10: 

10

jizue - room

standout: grass

I can't explain this album, I've spent the last 30 minutes attempting it, and I just can't. It's an instrumental album from Japanese group jizue that blends elements of jazz, math-rock and hardcore into...whatever this project is. I love it, but it's just the right side of complex and listenable to serve as the perfect background music, and still manage to stand on it's own. Check it out, maybe someone can explain it to me.

9

anderson .paak - oxnard

standout: brother's keeper

It took a while for Anderson .Paak to hit it big, but even back when I first heard his stuff, it was pretty apparent that it was only a matter of time before he hit it. Not only are his producer chops on display in full effect here, from rattling kicks and afro-soul influenced melodic leads, to the heavy jazz influences, all layered with a touch of 90s hip-hop. Dr. Dre helped with production and executive produced, and the influences of that era shine through heavily. Speaking of, .Paak's vocal performance is entirely different from what I had come to expect, and covers a wide array of topics, from the politically charged 6 Summers, to the sensual The Chase, that feels a lot it needs to be halfway an action scene in an 80s movie, to the savage Pusha-T feature Brother's Keeper. While .Paak himself is more a singer than rapper, his voice and flow fits the aesthetic of this project, and the brilliance of the production variety while still maintaining the feel of a cohesive project. From the all star feature list, to the frequent use of beat change-ups midway through tracks, back to front this project demands your attention.

8

rl grime - nova

standout: ucla

My first listen of this album resulted in me thinking "eh, this is just a bunch of electronic tracks", they weren't bad, but I didn't really feel it until my 3rd or 4th listen. RL Grime's ability as a producer has never been in question, and his live shows the stuff of legends. Throw into that with his yearly, highly anticipated Halloween 7 mixtape, featuring a vocal open by Shaq, he didn't need to come through with a project as diverse as this, and yet here we are. He manages to flow easily from big room trap Feel Free and Pressure, to the more housey Shrine and the emotional Atoms and the manic instrumental Rainer. It was really hard for me to pick just one favourite because of how cohesive this album has ended up feeling for me, like being taken on someone else's emotional roller coaster ride. But I've settled on the trashy, trappy R&B UCLA, where the lyrics manage to come across a little insecure, while the beat makes up for it with astounding bravado, and massive trap drops.

7

chvrches - love is dead

standout: deliverance

I've written before how vital live music events are to my enjoyment of certain genres & music acts, and if I'm being honest,  this album wouldn't be on here if I hadn't had the chance to see CHVRCHES live this year at the Commodore. It's a good album, don't get me wrong, it's got all polish of their previous two albums, and even more varied song selection with the more typical synth-pop bops with Miracle and Heaven/Hell, there's a huge change up with the moodier God's Plan and the incredibly sad and moving instrumental ii. Even Get Out, one of the lead singles from this project is laced with a lot darker subject matter and musical elements. Seeing Lauren Mayberry dance under neon lights to the intro rift of Graffiti will stick in my mind for years to come, and that feeling is what this kind of music is all about.

6

soccer mommy - clean

standout: cool

My musical tastes have been diverse for as long as I can remember, but this style of grungy, lo-fi bedroom pop-rock has never really been on my radar before. That being said, Nashville native Soccer Mommy has a lot of what I look for in music, catchy hooks, lyrics brimming with emotion and someone willing to take risks. While it's undeniable that this is far from a production masterpiece, which I don't understand in 2018 honestly, the great song writing and Sophie Allison's distinctive voice and nonchalant delivery gives me that summer feeling no matter what time of the year it is. Cool is one of my most listened to songs of the year by a long shot, with it's upbeat music and sad lyrics, it sounds like what teenage regret felt like. Scorpio Rising on the other hand, covers a lot of the same topics, but it manages to do to it in a very different way, sort of in a Slow Dance On The Inside by Taking Back Sunday kinda feel.

5

rezz - certain kind of magic

standout: teleportal

Even with my list this year being highly varied, I think this might be the least approachable album on either this or my EP list. Rezz has managed to create a cult of personality around herself in a way very few electronic musicians ever manage through her phenomenal set construction, heavy emphasis on showmanship with lights and video during her live sets, and brilliant production. Add on top of that very few artists are making this style of music anywhere close to this caliber, and you end up with a dominant force of heavy basslines and dark aesthetics. If you have ever had any interest in dubstep, be it the traditional UK variant or the trashy late 2000s-era bedroom-produced bangers, you will likely love this album. It's no surprise that deadmau5 signed her in 2016 given that her style of building up layers and layers of effects and sonic elements, only to cut them all out to isolate a heavy drop or gorgeous orchestral melody is very reminiscent of the house legend himself.

4

hinds - i dont run

standout: tester

Spanish all girl quartet came out of no where for me, but once I was into their vibe, I didn't look back. They sing in English (mostly), but their accents taint all their lyrics with just a little touch exotic flavour, giving their cacophonous musical style one more element to throw into the mix. They sort of sound like a mix of The Velvet Underground, and the Strokes, with a modern pop twist, and the fact they're women making, or more accurately, fighting the transition from care free 20s, to the reality of their 30s comes through in spades. The variety of their voices, and their writing styles gives this album a distinctly personal touch, but not so much it's impossible to relate to. This album is perfect for sitting in the sun on a lazy afternoon and letting the entire project wash over you, if I had to pick just one track though I'd go with Tester, a track about navigating complex, undefined personal relationships, and coping with it however possible.

3

let's eat grandma - im all ears

standout: it's not just me

I knew that PC Music wouldn't stay off my list entirely this year, the entire label seem to be steering pop music on the whole, and the production influences from SOPHIE fly in pretty fast on the glitchy-noisey delicious mess that is Hot Pink, the opening track. They follow that up with my favourite track of the year in It's Not Just Me, with the angsty lyrics, the way they seem to just float over the top of the beat that manages to be both groovy (dig the dance moves in the music video) and still challenge the listener with complexity and a touch of cacophony. While these two 17 year old girls from some random town in the UK might only be releasing their second project, and the lyrical content is for sure written by 17 year old girls, they show a capacity for having a vision for a track and getting it across in a truly astonishing way. They manage to blend genres, topics and feelings seemingly effortlessly, and I can't get enough of it!

2

the midnight - kids

standout: america 2

The nostalgic, synth-pop, retro-wave duo The Midnight came through with an ode to the 80s and 90s, laced with modern sensibilities. Stick these tracks over some 90s action movies, and they won't feel out of place, nor will they as your cruise into the sunset of 2018. With lyrics that are wistful for the past, and aware of the fact it will never come back, they manage to make you want to groove along, while slightly pricking that part of your brain that says "hey, is there where you thought you'd be when you were 12?". The whole project is laced with news clips from the 80s and 90s, talking about how exciting, and how terrifying the future looked. It's easy to forget even in those less connected times, sometimes all you could do was blast the stereo, drive into the night, and hold onto the best parts of your past, and try and be optimistic about the future.

1

brockhampton - iridescence

standout: tonya

Brockhampton is one of those music groups that is such a cultural phenomenon, it'll inspire kids making music in their bedrooms for a long time. No hip-hop group has made such a massive impact since Wu-Tang, and we all know they ain't nuthin' to fuck with. Both the group and each member manages to display astonishing range as they move from emotional ballads like the brilliant Tonya to bangers like New Orleans, they manage to make you want to dance to the driving basslines and clever lyrics, only to snap change to the slow and deeply emotional tracks like San Marcos. From Kevin Abstract's masterminding, to Dom's undeniably amazing bars, to the dreamy Matt Champion and the angst filled bearface, it's easy to see why this album is so diverse. What's harder to understand is how cohesive they manage to blend it all together, trappy vocal effects on top of acoustic guitar, the gospel influences, it's all mashed together into perfection. Tonya was on heavy rotation this year, with it's haunting vocals, brilliant piano melodies, and the change up it's so hard not to feel the heart that went into this project.

annnnnnnnd we’re done! I hope you listened to a shit load of good music this year, and I hope some of this resonates with you. Happy Holidays, have a good New Year, roll on 2019.

[mint-sm]

LOS CAMPESINOS! REVIEWS: Intro

Let’s talk about Los Campesinos! for a minute. Who the fuck is Los Camp?

So basically they’re an indie pop rock band from Cardiff, Wales, formed in 2006 and continuing to this day. Los Camp originally dabbled in the early sorta pop-revival movement during the mid-2000s, but then largely shifted their tone with future albums to indie rock that was darker, occasionally noisier, but wittier and much more moodily humorous over the years.

They’ve kind of got a reputation of being a prime example “maturing as a band” among the indie world, but at the same time they’ve never really exploded as like a big thing. Funny enough, the closest thing they’ve ever got to really being major successes were around that early twee period of theirs, one that the band is ironically not the most fond of, which is fine, Death of the Author and all that, but y’know, it’s kinda amusing.

Throughout their history, they’ve almost always had a consistency for rich instrumentation with immensely catchy melodies and choruses, as well as a dark yet amusingly intriguing lyrical style. The exact delivery and subject matter changes between albums as per that “maturation” thing, but they’ve always had this weird dissonance with emotions to actual sonics, in that many of the lyrics written by singer/lyricist Gareth Campesinos! (Gareth David) are all about reflection, contemplation, and frustration with the world they live in, but that exact world changes as time passes, interwoven (I use that word carefully) with lively, powerful and catchy choruses and vocal deliveries.

Early on with their “Sticking Fingers Into Sockets” EP and “Hold on Now, Youngster…”, they were all about a sorta general, but charmingly not-twee, early 20’s frustration through songs about broken relationships, death, and doe eyes. But later on, with something like “Sick Scenes,” they’ve grown more specific and a bit moodier, but simultaneously a bit more aloof, with a self-deprecative dark humor, going into stuff like quarter life crises, growing up in a world that’s on the verge of self-destruction, disappointment about things from crappy football tournaments to Brexit, among others.

But the thing I feel sets Los Camp apart from other indie rock acts that like to invoke lyrical dissonance is how much they intertwine the compositions and lyrics together, rather than have it just be sorta like, y’know, haphazardly placing really bright and poppy and glistening music with cheery, poppy sing-songiness that can be heard on pop radio but then the lyrics are all ANGSTY AND MISERABLE ABOUT HOW DEATH IS THE ONLY ANSWER BLAAARGH SCREAMO AND SHIT

Los Camp do have a really good sense of humor about their subject matter and themselves, and even the darker stuff they approach is usually (repeat, usually) approached with a... not-exactly playful, but very much self-aware attitude, and what you get is this weird mishmash of emotions where it’s like you’re introduced to a specifically shitty world or scenario, you feel like shit because you realize “wow, we’re actually all kinda living it,” and you know the world doesn’t love you, but you know what? Let’s shout back at the world and see what happens.

Gareth is able to make that sort of vague rebelliousness I probably just described it as as not vague at all, because his lyricism has been consistently very precise, very tight, yet very dense. Tons of his lyrics are jam-packed with incredibly ornate wordplay and obscure references from all over the place, from European football tournaments to esoteric postmodern novelists. He usually paints a really vivid mindset -- probably not an image per se, since he can get really esoteric and his exact meanings might fly right past me -- like he’s able to craft this really conflicting, but oddly consistent series of emotions with each song, and it makes their music so damn versatile, something you can totally listen to with any mood and yet still have it feel strongly relatable, kinda like how the lyrics of Smash Mouth’s “All Star” sound oddly depressing when I’m in a shitty mood. Somebody once told me the world was gonna roll me... :(

And as for the music itself, the band’s sound has had a pretty clear-cut evolution over the years, starting off with this punchy, charming violin/glockenspiel-obsessed Beautiful South-or-Pavement-inspired pop rock with the “Sockets” EP and “Youngster,” which went on to this slightly moodier, noisier, but still-lively period with part of “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” and completely with “Romance is Boring,” and everything since then has been this more mellow, relaxed and much, much cleaner period with releases since, in “Hello Sadness,” “No Blues,” and “Sick Scenes.” 

Essentially, listen to this track from "Hold on Now, Youngster..." and compare it to this one from "Romance is Boring" and to this from "No Blues." You can probably spot a few significant stylistic differences right off the bat.

I’ll go more in-depth with these individual albums over time in chronological order (gonna skip the EPs and “Heat Rash” zines just for convenience and in the end they’re not quite as interesting to talk about), but just in general, Los Camp has been a very fascinating band for me, and one I’ve heavily appreciated and respected for years. While I’m not the biggest rock fan, Los Camp will always hold a special place in my heart because of how unique they feel to me, in how much they’re able to properly convey their barrages of conflicting feelings with such tightness and consistency, and somehow make the bleakest or cringiest ideas seem heartfelt, or funny, or even really beautiful.

I would hesitate to say that their approaches are idiosyncratic or all that experimental, but their simple ability to be able to do as much as they’ve done with a probably not-that-diverse level of production is honestly very inspiring, and as just some random laptop musician that wants to be able to evoke emotions with an even smaller budget and even less resources, they really serve me well as both an idol and someone to listen to whenever I feel really upbeat but snide about “true love” not being real, or if I’m slumped against a bus window on a really rainy trip back home.

LC!4LYF and stuff.

[mint-sm]

LOS CAMPESINOS! REVIEW/ANALYSIS: Hello Sadness

Okay, so this requires a slightly longer intro for context, because actually quite a lot happened that led up to this album being the way it is. The biggest word that immediately strikes this album is “change,” and it all begins with the stuff that happened outside of it and the band itself.

First of all, according to this interview from early 2011, this then-unnamed next album following “Romance is Boring” was intended to be a “more direct and poppier affair” after “Romance is Boring” started to breach more towards experimental noise pop. It’s likely to assume that it wasn’t going to be like a “Hold on Now, Youngster…” level of pop appeal, because not only did the band at the time not look fondly on that record as I’ve mentioned before, but also, indie music was going through a bit of a change at this point. This type of overly punchy, maximist “indie” style of previous albums was starting to die in its popularity, as it was slowly just kinda blending into the mainstream (and as we all know, mainstream means everything has to be boring now because shut up).

This wasn’t really helped by how the original team had already been in a transitionary period of shifting its lineup, and sadly, much of it entailed band members that really did lend Los Camp a lot of its unique and compelling energy: Drummer Ollie Briggs, violinist/keyboardist Harriet Coleman, and probably the most notable loss, lead vocalist/keyboardist Aleks Berditchevskaia, who actually left before “Romance is Boring” was released. A new lineup with Jason Adelinia, Rob Taylor, and Gareth David’s sister, Kim, was formed for the album, and while I’m comfortable with this shift, and it was inevitable since this is a band that at that point had been around for about 5 years, it’s still a shame, because damn, a lot of what made their previous records so dynamic, lively and colorful came from them.

Also, during this time, Gareth was apparently going through a really nasty breakup, and it shows in the subject matter and lyrics of “Hello Sadness,” and that statement about this album being “more direct and poppier”... well, the end result is definitely more direct, but poppy it is not. It’s the band’s most clear-cut breakup album, and it’s likely the darkest album they’ve ever released by a wide margin. Oh, some of Los Camp’s initial appeal still remains, with the catchy melodies and choruses, intricate poetics, and some genuinely poppier tracks, but here are all the things you have to consider:

The instrumentation has become less vibrant as a result of the moodier atmosphere the album’s trying to convey and possibly as a result of the changed-up band lineup. New vocalist Kim Campesinos!, while not bad, doesn’t have the sing-songy, colorful, or vibrant energy and chemistry with Gareth that Aleks provided in previous albums, and now she’s just more of a backup singer, meaning no more lively call-and-responses from here on in. The surrounding music scene has changed to prefer a more refined alternative-rock sound than the concentrated and blasting noise rock or punky influence of before. And on top of that, the album was recorded and released in what the band’s lead vocalist/lyricist described as “the year of the most upsetting breakup of my life.”

And it’s called “Hello Sadness.” Does it end well?

IT'S NO LIE IF THE WATERS ROSE / AND DROWNED THAT PLACE FROM COAST TO COAST / YOU WOULDN'T SEE THIS SMILE LEAVE / MY FACE FOR ALL ETERNITY /

Well, no, not really, but it does start very well, at least! The first few tracks of this album start off the band at its liveliest and poppiest, though there are some changes, primarily the nitty gritty of the production style. Much of the noise and grit that was found in the band’s previous works is gone, making things a bit more mellow, but tracks like “Songs About Your Girlfriend” come pretty close. It’s a very tight track, there’s a lot of really nice melodies and riffs, and while it doesn’t speak too much differently about Gareth’s lyricism -- it’s basically about being a fucking rock star in the face of an ex and her new boyfriend -- it’s still a fun bit of indie rock with a lot of potential for getting stuck in your head.

The first track, “By Your Hand” is also very catchy; I have to imagine this was one of the earliest songs made for this album before the band started to go in a moodier direction, because it’s just that nice to listen to. Again, it’s not as bombastic or dramatic-sounding as something from any of the band’s previous albums, but it is very lively and has a lot of pop appeal; those little looping e-piano riffs, the brass accompaniment in the background, and the catchy crowd choruses, and the lyrics are kinda just like some cute, kinda funny romantic encounter. I could imagine this playing as like maybe like a theme song to some teen-oriented high school movie or something, it’s basically just a decent, pleasant-sounding pop tune with some really nice choruses and some vibrancy to it.

YOU DO NOT LIKE US CAUSE / YOUR GIRLFRIEND LIKELY DOES / AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS AGREE ON HER SOFT-SPOT FOR ME / I'LL HAVE MY HARD HANDS OVER / HER SOFT SPOTS SOON, YOU WILL SEE /

However, the title track is where I think the band starts getting really interesting. Something I’ll touch on more in a bit is that the album honestly doesn’t do a very great job at presenting conflicting emotions, something that I’ve very much praised the band for, since most of the time, it doesn’t seem like we’re given enough context for any of the scenarios presented to feel anything more than just “sadness.” I’ll explain why I think that’s the case in a bit, but essentially, most songs from this album feel like they’re presenting one strong emotion, but previous songs of other albums presented far more.

The song “Hello Sadness,” however, I think stands alone since it IS able to establish more of an internal conflict, clearly illustrate it for us, and manage to bring us on Gareth’s side, as he just belts these gorgeous-sounding vocal melodies that paint a really strangely hopeful yet utterly futile-sounding and hollow mentality, but in a way that works to the song’s advantage as the production is probably the most simultaneous bombastic and heartbreaking on the entire album, building up to just this epic climax of wailing guitar riffs, epic drums and background vocals, and Gareth just fucking roaring his lines.

Throughout this album, Gareth is trying to bring us onto our side and convince us the idea that heartbreak is pretty much akin to death, and I think this song, more than any other on the album is able to do that and make it just so utterly epic.

I CHRISTEN ALL THE SHIPS THAT SAILED / ON YOUR LITTLE KISSES' SALIVA TRAILS / GOODBYE COURAGE / HELLO SADNESS AGAIN! /

Unfortunately, this album takes a bit of a nosedive starting from the middle section, and that’s where I start having a lot of problems. See, as I’ve said, Gareth is trying to build up a sort of emotional state where much of the enjoyment comes from thinking “wait, what emotion am I supposed to be feeling here?”, and never getting a definite an answer because it just makes their music that much more versatile. Sadness has always been a thing in Los Camp records, but it’s made much less overbearing by covering it under some other conflicting emotion, and Los Camp has shown to already be masters in making things feel equal parts of multiple moods and emotions at once, be it anger, disappointment, fear, sarcasm, or even joy.

However, with “Hello Sadness,” much of the songs feel content in just evoking a single mood of anguish and despair and that’s kind of it, and unfortunately they feel kinda boring after a while, especially since the instrumentals on songs like “Life Is a Long Time” and “Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)”, just feel kinda standard and unsophisticated and not all that diverse or intriguing, sonically or lyrically.

A part to making heavily emotional artwork work is to have the artist(s) be able to bring the audience into their intended mental place, and give them context to be able to relate and convince them towards this feeling. Unfortunately, this album kinda lacks context, and it’s just not that compelling, and that’s a shame.

We can tell from the lyrics of a lot of these things as to what Gareth is feeling, maybe some of the circumstances, but despite how flowery and… interesting some of the lyrics are -- for example, the “three lions” of “Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)” appear to be based on the lions on the English National Football logo, which come to life and start clawing him to death as a metaphor to heartbreak. Yeah. -- they just can’t move me, because I don’t really “get” or really relate to the context most of these songs were born of, and he doesn’t really do a great job of convincing me to get invested.

I can get the high anger and volatility of something from as harsh and abrasive as “Plan A” from “Romance is Boring,” and I can get the mildly cringeworthy but upbeat cheeriness, lighthearted joy of “By Your Hand” of this album, but I just can’t get a lot of the other lyrics that ultimately boil down to “I’m sad. I’m disappointed. Heartbreak is like death. Here’s another lyric about me being brutally killed by a giant animal to illustrate that. Would a bird do this time?”

YOU KNOW IT STARTS PRETTY ROUGH / AND ENDS UP EVEN WORSE / AND WHAT GOES ON IN-BETWEEN / I TRY TO KEEP IT OUT OF MY THOUGHTS /

Not that it doesn’t get a little better by the end, though. That bird line above is referencing “The Black Bird, the Dark Slope,” which does pick up a lot more energy, and honestly kinda feels like a darker-and-edgier reinterpretation of the band’s twee indie rock days. It’s less gritty and raw-feeling, Kim’s vocals, while not bad, are just kinda relegated to a background accompaniment, maybe with a few lines here and there, and the lyrics just get kinda ridiculously too edgy at times (seriously, THE ENTIRE SONG is about a giant black bird tearing him apart limb from limb), but it still works pretty well, again, kind of like a blacker, cleaner response to something from “Hold on Now, Youngster…”

But the ending doesn’t really do this album concept a proper service, I think. “Light Leaves, Dark Sees Pt. II” is just kinda… dull, and while I don’t dislike slower songs just by principle, this just feels kinda plodding and too listing to really make it feel any more than just kinda lazy. I much prefer “To Tundra” earlier on this album, which is still a little too basic lyrically and instrumentally, but it does have a more satisfying climax, or “Baby I Got the Death Rattle,” which is also not the most adventurous song on this album, but does have a little bit more viscerality and punch to it, and as well a pretty nice and funny outro.

AND I CHEWED MY ONLY NECKTIE / FROM THE METAL FRAME OF MY BED / WHERE I TIED YOUR WRISTS TOGETHER / SPENT ALL NIGHT GIVIN' (OH, YOU GET THE MESSAGE!) /

Overall though, this album is kinda boring, but totally listenable. It has a few really good ideas, and some of the songs from here do rank as some of my favorite Los Camp tracks, and overall it’s not really a tedious listen, but ultimately it’s just not the most engaging thing this band has to offer. If you actually do manage to fit that moody or darkly snide atmosphere it’s almost completely consumed with, I think this might do it better for you (there was a time of depression when I considered this my favorite more than “Romance is Boring”, so heh), but as its own thing, it’s kinda just meh.

It’s a shame that this wasn’t as dynamic as I was hoping it would be, or as compelling, but you know, times change, life hits you, and if this is all you can really feel like writing? Eh, go for it. Thankfully after this, Los Camp would later spend a longer while for their next endeavor, something that would stand out much more, and perhaps be… less sad? How could they do that? :O

Eh… we’ll get to that next time. (3/5)

FAVES: “By Your Hand,” “Songs About Your Girlfriend,” “Hello Sadness,” “Baby I Got The Death Rattle”