Pop music artist, Halsey, mostly known for her music in the late 2010’s left me stunned. Straying from the artist that most remember and leaning into a different style, Halsey’s new album, “The Great Impersonator,” exudes an eerie feeling with the lyrics, although her voice remains the same.
The album has 18 songs with a variety of tempos and beats throughout. Since most of the songs have their own meaning and the album doesn’t have any featured artists, it gives the album a more distinct feel. The first song of the album, “Only Living Girl in LA,” is by far one of my favorites. Also among some of my favorites are “Hometown,” “I Never Loved You” and “Lucky.” The vocals in this album are very calming and sound almost nostalgic to me, which is specifically shown through these four songs. I like the more acoustic sound these songs bring and how they create a more light feeling, whereas the other songs of the album create a heavier and sentimental atmosphere.
The next three songs, “Letter to God (1974),” “Letter to God (1983)” and “Letter to God (1998)”, stuck out the most when I first looked through the album because of the similarity in their names. The varying years left me wondering what the correlation between these songs was and what purpose they served. I liked these songs because it felt like they were telling their own separate story, differentiating them from all the other songs in the album. In the first two songs, Halsey mentions how she wants to be loved, and then in the last song she says, “Please, God, I’m finally loved.” I really enjoyed how these songs felt so emotional and personal while also making you feel a sense of sadness too.
Next on the album are “Dog Years,” “Life of the Spider (Draft),” “Arsonist,” “Lonely is the Muse” and “Darwinism.” These are all songs that I didn’t like very much and found to sound a bit weird. In “Dog Years,” the song starts with this banjo, guitar-sounding instrument. Personally, I’m not a big fan of this song because some of the lyrics kind of weird me out, however, this song strangely reminds me of the band “The Cranberries.” The instrumentals are a common theme throughout these songs.
With most of the songs having a similar feel and tempo, “Arsonist” stood out specifically because the beginning of the song starts with an instrumental that stands out among the other songs. “Arsonist” has a slower tempo compared to the rest of the album, but what I found most interesting is that at the end of the song the lyrics change into a series of questions. For example, “Have you ever been woken from a dream just to realize that you were still asleep.” This really caught my attention because it was something unique and new to me which I’ve never heard before in another song.
The song “Darwinism” reminded me of “Arsonist” l because of the similar beat and overall flow. Meanwhile, in “Life of the Spider (Draft),” the beginning of the song conveys more sadness, then later gives off some aggression. This song has more of a studio kind of sound to it but I’m not a fan of the lyrics as they seem a bit bland to me. The next song is, “Lonely is the Muse.” This is the song I like the most out of these five because of its upbeat tempo and because it exudes more of a rock aura with electric guitar and drums. Although, the song itself is a bit more on the repetitive side.
The next three songs are “Ego,” “Panic Attack” and “I Believe in Magic.” While “Ego” and “Panic Attack” are more upbeat and catchy songs, “I Believe in Magic” is more of a sentimental song with a slower beat. I believe the song is about Halsey, herchild and her feelings about motherhood. Throughout this album, there are songs where a baby’s voice is included. This is mostly in slower, more sentimental songs like “I Believe in Magic.” I found this song too slow, but I thought it was very sweet. Meanwhile in “Ego” and “Panic Attack,” there’s more of a youthful and girly vibe. I really like how catchy the beats are, specifically the drums in “Ego.” Although they are repetitive songs, as well I think they would be good car songs and I can picture people dancing and having a good time to these songs.
The final three songs are “Hurt Feelings,” “The End” and “The Great Impersonator.” These songs are all a little different, with “The End” having the slowest beat. Both “Hurt Feelings” and “The End” are more personal songs where you can hear the emotion within her voice. On another note, “The Great Impersonator” has more of a whimsical note in the beat. There’s an array of different instruments in the song, from harp to electric guitar.
Overall, Halsey is very creative and I found it fascinating how different some of the songs were from each other, granted they’re all a part of the same album. I admired the versatility of this album and Halsey herself. I’ve always enjoyed Halsey’s older work, and even though some of the songs resonated with me better than others, it’s safe to say that I’ve found some new songs to add to my playlist.
“The Great Impersonator:” ★★★★☆
