Singers, DJ’s and rappers alike will often include nonmusical sounds in their records most of the time to aid the story telling. Voicemails, gun shots and anything else that can be used to tell a story can be found in songs by all types of musicians. It’s not uncommon to hear creative use of everyday noises and dialogue on an artist’s album. The samples used are not overpowering and the songs themselves put out strong visuals creating a graphic novel in your head as you listen. Each instrumental fits Halsey’s voice in the way a singer who uses electro music should have. Halsey certainly hit it out of the park with this one, but the producers on the album deserve equal credit. Spread some love and emit positivity, be proud of your generation even the murkier parts. The song is both empowering and uplifting, I’m sure Tumblr and Instagram users had a day with this one, but hey, I can get behind it. With themes like underage drinking, individuality, and independence, the song makes you want to drape yourself in an American flag, light up a joint, and flip the bird to anyone who disapproves of your lifestyle.

The indie pop star raises the bar with creative lyrics in “ N ew Americana”, Halsey’s anthem to her generation “raised on biggie and nirvana.” Easily a stand out song, “New Americana” is hauntingly reminiscent of modern day youth. The song’s story is dark, but the seductively catchy beat and erotic lyrics mask the tragic tale well. Demons and three-piece-suit wearing devils are painted on a sexual canvas, transforming the likeable tune into a twisted account that resembles what “Fifty Shades of Grey” would be like if it was written by Dante Alighieri ( Inferno). It is easy to have your ears fooled, this being one of Halsey’s tracks that lies more on the “pop” side of the album. As the chorus echoes her intentions of being “headed straight for the castle” she releases a battle cry with this song, claiming victory before the album has even began.Īs the album continues the beats get a little more experimental, “ Hold me down” has an XX style feel to the instrumental, but Halsey’s voice, powerful and confident, turns the song into something entirely original. The backing track builds, small chimes come in to play, a ghost like choir before the chorus bliss. Halsey makes it clear that she is coming for the top. A simple beat pulls you into the lyrics and you just have to find out where this is all going. Very rarely am I hooked on an artist from the first song, and I don’t like to make a habit of comparing artists to one another, but I find myself in making an exception in both cases when it comes to “ Badlands.” It cannot be denied that Halsey is what you would get if Lorde and Lana Del Rey had a baby with dyed hair, (and that is in no way a bad thing!) and the opening track to badlands titled “ Castle” has such an eerie beginning to it that it you can’t help but be drawn in. I’m a sucker for good artwork on a record and there was a sort of dystopian-tumblr feel to the cover of Badlands so I gave it a listen, and wow. I had never heard the name Halsey, let alone her music but I believe I owe the discovery of her album to a Gerard Way tweet.

No one I knew made previous mention of her, I had not yet experienced her “Room 93” EP, I was unfamiliar with her YouTube fame, and knew nothing of her relationships with Mattew Healey of the 1975, and the Norwegian Hip-Hop artist/producer Lido (former boyfriend and producer on “Castle” and “New Americana”). I did not discover Halsey until the day after her album released and it was completely by chance. The New-Jersey-native describes herself as “tri-bi”: biracial, bisexual, and bipolar…it doesn’t get much more American than that.

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