Halsey is the Bleeding Heart of Alt-Pop

On the heels of their ever-expanding lineup of creative pursuits, alternative-pop priestess Halsey continues to deliver new life into their world and ours, with the addition of baby Ender Ridley Aydin and If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, her 4th studio album.

Admittedly I hadn’t given Halsey a shot until last year, but boy do I wish I stumbled upon their greatness a long long time ago. A super fan of lyrical prose, I was instantly captivated by the gutwrenching vulnerability that spills from her pen, with songwriting that can strike a chord in the depths of even the hardest of us all.

Halsey (who goes by she/they pronouns) has a candid self-awareness that seeks refuge in the mirrored experience of the listener as it begs to find a relatable counterpart in the contents of our psyche. An honest dose of internal reality in a musical landscape that’s littered with the façades of who artists want you to think they really are.

It’s refreshing to witness a pop star bleed such raw emotion on such a heightened platform, alchemizing every inner struggle into another life lesson in the face of millions of people around the world.

Music as a Mirror

Music serves as an outlet for our angst and a vessel for the overwhelming emotions that build up inside our heart and psyche. Finding solace in the authenticity of an artist we admire has the power to unlock parts of ourselves we have yet to make sense of through our own discovery.

There’s something about seeing your pain and insecurities reflected in someone else who not only acknowledges, but chooses to be empowered by their flaws. It reminds us that there’s strength in owning who we are down to our ugliest, most self-destructive bits, and using them as a means for self-acceptance, even when society tries to convince us we don’t deserve it.

A true artist, Halsey’s music takes us on a visceral journey through growth, heartbreak, rebellion, mental health, sexual agency, and more- never shying away from their ferocious stance on maintaining your personal autonomy, no matter how that looks to those on the outside.

A voice for the hopeless romantic, the rebel, the frightened child, and the saboteur that lives in us all. The “wild woman” with a big brain; the desired, and the lonely. The ultimate testament to the highest of art deriving from the deepest of shadows.

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power

In IICHLIWP, we meet Halsey at their most vulnerable and most powerful states, as they navigate the fluctuating experiences and emotions tied to pregnancy, childbirth, and love through their new experimental sound.

A sonic reinvention for the Manic artist, the new album shies away from their familiar electro-pop production to bring us an album rich with a dark ambiance and “very weird choices” as her Nine Inch Nails collaborations Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross put it. Above anything else, these weird choices serve the narrative as the centerfold of the record, begging the listener to pay attention in an otherwise endless sea of “safe” music.

From the industrial sounds of “Girl is a Gun” and “I am not a woman, I’m a God,” to the softer ballads in “Darling” and “Ya’aburnee,” and the punk rock “Easier than Lying” and “The Lighthouse,” IICHLIWP takes audiences on a journey unlike anything we’ve heard from Halsey before.

A new favorite for me; I’ve had this record on repeat for over a week and still can’t get enough!

Some notable songwriting gems:

Easier Than Lying

“My heart is massive, but it’s empty A permanent part of me, that innocent artery Is gaspin’ for some real attention Some undivided hypertension”

Lillith

“You got me feelin’ like I been too mean And everything that I say, I believe Tuck a knife with my heart up my sleeve And fuck like a demon, do it like nothin’ I am disgustin’, I’ve been corrupted And by now, I don’t need no help to be destructive I been gone, yeah, I been on this road too long”

Girl is a Gun

“My newest baby’s testin’ me lately Makin’ me crazy from mornin’ to evenin’ I cannot take it, I love it, I break it Need it, leave it if I believe it’s a waste of my Time is a blessin’, to me, it’s a lesson And I can’t be stressin’ to give you attention ’Cause, oh, it’s never enough, so I’m givin’ you up And you’ll be better with a nice girl, darlin’”

I am not a woman, I’m a god

“Every day, I got a smile where my frown goes A couple bodies in the garden where the grass grows I take ’em with me to the grave in a suitcase Maybe I could be a different human in a new place”

“I am not a woman, I’m a god I am not a martyr, I’m a problem I am not a legend, I’m a fraud So keep your heart ’cause I already got one”

The Lighthouse

“Well, that should teach a man to mess with me He was never seen again and I’m still wanderin’ the beach And I’m glad I met the Devil ’cause he showed me I was weak And a little piece of him is in a little piece of me”

Ya’aburnee

“I think we could live forever In each other’s faces ’cause I’ll Always see my youth in you”