Following the release of his single, “Call Your Friends,” Rod Wave released his newest album “Nostalgia” Sept. 15. The album is very positive and an emotional roller coaster. From the beautiful melodies of the beats to the impactful words sung by Rod Wave, “Nostalgia” inspired me to dig deeper into my own emotions.
Wave is a hip hop and R&B artist. I have never actually listened to a full Rod Wave album, just a few songs here and there, but I have always liked the few songs that I have listened to. After hearing this new album, it made me want to listen to his other music. The whole album is filled with amazing songs that not only have an amazing sound, but also have great meaning that resonated with me, and I think will resonate with other people as well.
I enjoyed every song on this album but there were some that stood out more than others. Songs like “Call your Friends,” “Come See Me” and “Boyz Don’t Cry” show a lot of the mental health struggles that Rod Wave deals with, as well as his romantic relationships and his emotions. These are similar themes that take place throughout the whole album, but in these three songs you can clearly see these themes being portrayed by Wave.
When I listen to the song “Call your Friends,” I can tell from the lyrics that Wave is not doing well. With lyrics like, “It’s like I did her so wrong, but wanted her to be my wife” or “I’ve been living so wrong, but I just wanna do right” show some signs that he is in a state of struggle or loss, especially with his love life and dealing with the consequences of his actions. I feel like a lot of people can relate to those lyrics, but later on in the song there is more positive light shining through the lyrics about having a support system, like friends, to help deal with your issues. One example is the lyric: “Call your friends and ask how they are doing.” This shows that you never know what your friends, people that you’re close to, or even strangers are going through. Talking to people or asking questions like, “How are you?” or “Is everything okay?” can really go a long way and I think that is the message that he is trying to get across in this song.
Another song I enjoyed off this album was “Boyz Don’t Cry.” This song goes more in-depth into signs of mental health. Wave goes really deep and the song touches on a lot of his problems that he deals with, like his emotions, anxiety and just all of his burdens. Lyrics like, “I love you, but I’m full of rage, our past is full of rage” shows more of Wave’s past and him still dealing with issues that he hasn’t gotten over. The one thing I will say that we see often in this album is that Wave adds some rap or hip-hop elements in some of the songs on the album. One in particular that I really enjoyed was “Turks and Caicos,” featuring 21 Savage, which was made better just off the feature. It was a real lighthearted song with not much meaning to it, just a good vibe song that seems so different from the rest of the album. Regardless, I am happy that he included it to see how versatile of an artist Wave is.
Overall, I thought this was a really amazing album, not just because of the incredible melodies and beats to songs like “Fight the Feeling,” but more because of the meaning behind them. It made me really like this album more because it resonates with me. The album can reach a large audience of people who can connect with it. Throughout the majority of the album I didn’t get bored, which I was really surprised about. Usually if I listen to full length albums I get bored after the first few songs, but I was engaged, entertained and enjoyed the entire album. This album makes me want to listen to more albums made by Wave. Every song on the album felt special in its own way and had a specific emotional impact, which made me get more invested into it. I highly recommend you listen to this album.
“Nostalgia”: ★★★★★
