Never Retallack  | Entertainment Editor

Halsey released her third studio album on Jan. 17 by the name, “Manic” which featured her 2018 Billboard Hot 100 number one hit “Without Me.”

This album was a heavy-hitter; it covered mental health, emotionally abusive relationships and struggles with self-love; she didn’t hold anything back.

The first track titled “Ashley” is a real start to a new Halsey era, exposing her true identity “Ashley Nicolette Frangipane” and what she has gone through in her career. In the Spotify storyline feature, Halsey said, “This is an introduction but it’s also a cautious goodbye,” reflecting on how her audience would be affected should she ever “disappear.” This was a pretty dark song, but an essential way to start her album.

Halsey described her second song “clementine” via Spotify storyline feature as, “… a pinnacle moment for ‘Manic.’ It’s when I really saw my inner self and inner child come through in sound as well as the lyrics. You can hear two voices.” She refers to the calm and collected Halsey singing while Ashley yells impulsively in the background — a culmination of who she is and how she longs to be in the world.

The third song, “Graveyard” is one of my favorites. The catchy beat is inviting, and the meaning is deep. Halsey croons about loving someone who is in a bad place and without realizing, following them too far — far enough that it is detrimental to one’s own health.

“You should be sad” has an almost country twang to the guitar and vocals as Halsey sings about how happy she is to not have gone further in a relationship with someone who she describes as a terrible person. This is believed to be about her ex G-Eazy who was addicted to drugs and cheated on Halsey several times throughout their relationship.

While a lot of Halsey’s album focuses on the faults of her exes  that did more harm than good, she also acknowledges her own faults and battles, such as in her song “Forever… (is a long time)” which discusses how her paranoia and anxiety that can harm a relationship.

The three interludes in “Manic” cover three types of love, featuring three different artists. The first one, “Dominic’s Interlude” features Dominic Fike and is about brotherly love. The second “Alanis’ Interlude” with Alanis Morissette is about loving women and sexual and professional empowerment. And the third “SUGA’s Interlude” is where SUGA of BTS touches on self-love.

“I HATE EVERYBODY” is an important song for Halsey regarding her self-image. Her self-worth can often be equated by what other celebrities think is valuable, so she gets with them to earn that same respect that people have for such a star, and she is sick of it.

Halsey’s song “3am” is reminiscent to the style of the early 2000s with the heavy guitar and belting vocals, and touches further on her need for acceptance and love, and the fear of being alone and undervalued. 

One of Halsey’s most intimate and vulnerable songs on the album has to be “More” which ties in her longing for love — while not necessarily romantic — and to someone who does not exist. Halsey has opened up about having endometriosis and having several miscarriages, and has recently discovered she can have children; at the end of “More,” a sonogram can be heard beeping as the song fades out.

Overall Review: Halsey’s album “Manic” is a manifesto pushing past the heartache and pain she experienced in relationships to who she is as a person and how she has developed throughout the years. I resonated with what Western Howl staff member Ashlynn Norton said when she expressed that, “Halsey’s new album is the poetic self-help book for turning away love and people.” Every song on the album hits heavy while still being something to dance to or cry to; an all around great exploration of Ashley.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of http://www.manicthealbum.com/