Emphatically No., Brittany

Hello Record Club!

So, I’ve been trying to listen to the albums that people have picked as much as possible, believe it or not, and as I listen, I brainstorm things I'll write for the review, but then Wednesday rolls around and I forget to take a few mins to jot my thoughts down. The Miley Cyrus album took me down a deep rabbit hole about Miley's life and evolution into an adult, got thinking about nature vs nurture, all the struggles she probably had with being a child star and daughter of a celebrity, growing up with money etc. etc. Maybe I will still go back and write that review.

BUT! Anyway, back to this week’s album—Cheekface, Emphatically No. Overall, I liked this album. It was spunky, fun, and I liked how the lyrics seemed to be random and a little off the wall, but also were sending a message.  I enjoyed the specific references to current/relevant culture. My ears definitely perked up at the mention of Applebee's in "Big Big Friend," and Lena Dunham being an annoying genius in "Don’t Get Hit by a Car." I thought the lyrics were creative, relevant and relatable (e.g. "Life is long like a CVS receipt"). I really liked "Don’t Get Hit by a Car," specifically the lyrics "Sometimes I wonder if a single good thing exists on Earth, and then I eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch."  As for the actual music of this record, nothing really stood out to me.  I didn’t think there were extremely memorable riffs, no super catchy choruses (to me, anyway), but at the same time, I thought the sound was unique.

I think the overall message painted a mundane picture of the world today with humans being victims of consumerism, “human trash” being everywhere, and this idea that humans are trapped in these lives that have lost genuine meaning or connection in their relationships or actions over time, but continuing to go through the motions, day in and day out. Oddly enough though, despite this seemingly negative view the overall album painted, I think they did it with a humor that I appreciated, that pointed out irony in the times we are living in (e.g. "Follow your heart. No."; "Sending our heartfelt apologies from the royal we... that's me and my phone.”) But yeah, that was the overall take I got from the album and I’ll be interested in seeing what other people might have taken away from it.

I’m not sure I’d listen to this album over and over again, but it definitely caught my attention and made me think a little bit. Overall, I liked it!  Good pick, Pammy!