Manic, Halsey’s new album, is comprised of 16 songs that span across a number of genres. Despite the range of genres, the lyrical focus on Halsey’s experiences with bipolar disorder ties the songs together.
Halsey is an artist that I really haven’t followed in a long time. I remember really liking her debut album Badlands when I was 15, but after that I never really kept up with any new releases.
Overall, her newest release was a bit of a hit-or-miss one for me. There were a couple of songs that I liked, but most of them I was either ambivalent towards or straight-up did not enjoy.
The first song that stood out to me was “Ashley,” which is coincidentally the first song of the album. “Ashley,” which Halsey named after herself, serves as a reflection on her past music and public persona.
I personally liked the way Halsey shifted from using soft vocals in the verses to shouting the chorus. It provides a really good contrast and catches the listener’s attention quickly. I also think that it would be a really cool song to hear live because of that, as I imagine even more passion would come about in front of a live audience.
That being said, I think the version on the album could have benefited from less vocal processing. I feel like the emotional energy was undercut because of how edited the vocals were, and allowing them to sound more natural would have brought more emotion to the song.
Speaking of vocals, I did not enjoy the way she performed “clementine.” Her vocals, for the most part, were fine, but at certain points in the song, she starts chanting and shouting the lyrics in the background. I found that it clashed with the mellow, lo-fi hip-hop inspired instrumentals, which is the part of the song that I actually quite enjoyed.
Overall, I found “clementine” to be really discordant and, as a result, really hard to enjoy.
Another part of Manic that I didn’t really enjoy was the decision to include “Without Me” on the album.
“Without Me” is without a doubt Halsey’s greatest solo hit. It hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over six million copies in the United States alone.
I would not have a problem with this song’s inclusion in the album, if not for the fact that the song was released at the end of 2018.
“Without Me” provides nothing new at this point. Just about everyone has already heard it, and has probably heard it enough times to be sick of it, so its presence doesn’t really add anything to the album. If anything, it brings the experience to a standstill.
I think the song should have just been left as a single. The album is long enough without it and if need be, it could be replaced with another song, either new or old and unreleased.
A final bone I have to pick with the album is the final track, “929.”
Halsey’s songs tend to have very direct and honest lyrics. Although sometimes this is a positive, I think it serves as a negative for “929.”
The song serves as a look into Halsey’s life and mindset, which makes the song incredibly personal. This coupled with the bluntness of the lyrics makes the track feel more like a therapy session than a song. It’s a bit of an uncomfortable feeling.
I understand that art isn’t necessarily supposed to be comfortable, and that great works can come from making people uncomfortable. There are some songs that I have greatly enjoyed that are unsettling in either their composition or lyrical content. However, this isn’t one of them.
To end this article on a more positive note, my favorite song from the album was probably “3am.”
The unsettling sound at the beginning caught my attention right away, and the moody guitar kept it. The guitar riffs and drum beats in the chorus boost the energy of the song, and it’s easy for me to find myself nodding my head or tapping my foot to the rhythm. It’s definitely found a spot on my playlist.
Although I didn’t particularly enjoy this album, don’t let my less-than-stellar review deter you from checking this album out. If you think it is something that you would enjoy, it’s worth a listen. Art is subjective, after all.
Photo Credit / Halsey
