Manic: Review
COURTESY IMAGE // HALSEY
On January 17th 2020, Halsey released another album titled “Manic,” very different from her previous works. In her new album, Halsey opens up about herself and lets herself become vulnerable, writing about finally finding her identity and learning to love herself.
This album specifically called out to me mainly because I had just left a really messy relationship. I felt absolutely worthless, but her music made me believe that I wasn’t. Her words empowered me and others to realise their own self-worth is not decided by some guy or girl.
Here are my number three songs from her album:
Coming in number three is “3am.” This song is upbeat and has a fast tempo, somewhat similar to her previous angrier albums. However, this song doesn’t express rage towards a specific person or hierarchy. It’s about herself. She’s sick of staying up late and drinking away her sorrows, then proceeding to call people to make herself feel less alone. She knows she has a problem, and she’s begging for help to break this habit in her lyrics. Also, it represents others when we too try to scream for help, but often can’t find the right way to do it and try to find other outlets to express our pain.
My second suggestion on the album for you to listen to is “killing boys.” It starts off with the words from a movie “Jennifer’s Body.” The movie is about a girl becoming possessed by a demon and then proceeding to kill off her male classmates. Right after the dialogue, the song picks up and Halsey begins to sing. This expresses anger towards all men, yes, but now it’s more about her becoming independent. Halsey says she doesn’t want to feel sad anymore. Her new plan is to get revenge by becoming her own person. In a way, she calls to all the girls who had their own hearts broken by a boy. Halsey tells everyone listening that we don’t need them anymore. And she couldn’t be more right.
My number one pick from this album is the song “More.” I loved this song because of the pure rawness of her voice as she expresses her desire for something she can’t have. It wasn’t until I looked up what the song was about though that made me realise why she expresses such vulnerability. The song is for her stillborn child. Halsey expresses the desire for a child she lost and so desperately wants. Instead of saddening us though, it gives us hope. She gives us hope that one day we will be loved. It doesn’t have to be now, but one day, we’ll find someone we’ll love unconditionally. We just have to be patient and not be afraid to try again.
Overall, this album just expresses how Halsey has finally found herself without a romantic partner by her side. She’s strong enough to stand on her own, and she wants her listeners to know that we are as well.