TW: sexual assault, emotional abuse
Recently, I started listening to a new band. (are any of us really surprised?) They're a band called Badflower, and they're from L.A. Last year, they dropped an album called "This Is How the World Ends". The record consists of 13 songs, and is almost 49 minutes long.
I have many favorites from this album, including: "Don't Hate Me", "Family", "Fuckboi" and "Stalker". My favorite of these four tracks is definitely "Don't Hate Me", however. "Don't Hate Me" was a song I actually heard thanks to Tik Tok. A clip of it was on my for you page one day, but I didn't listen to the full track until a few days ago. I instantly fell in love with it, especially the bridge. It plays on repeat in my head: "I heard you started dating the singer from that emo band. What if my band was more like their band? Would you hate me then? I got all the tattoos and piercings, same as him. There's nothing missing. I even dyed my hair and learned to scream. I sound just like him, listen!" The breakdown-esque sound of the bridge is so addicting, and I absolutely love it. I listen to this track AT LEAST once a day. It's definitely my favorite.
"Family" is a hard hitting track that talks about the struggles of mental health and the struggles of relationships within a family. This is a song that is personally very relatable to me. I had many struggles with my family growing up, from emotional abuse, to favoritism, and even sexual assault. It was a very difficult thing to deal with. To hear practically all my thoughts put into a song is very comforting. The music video is also very powerful and is sure to bring a tear to your eye.
"Fuckboi" is a more lighthearted track. This song is so fun to yell along to, and it always gets me moving. "Fuckboi" is about just that, fuckboys. Specifically, stuck up influencers/musicians that think they're better than everyone else. This is a track that I find myself coming back to time and time again.
"Stalker" is easily one of the darker songs on "This is How the World Ends". Even just the first line threw me off when I first heard it: "Stalker, stalker, one day I'll probably fucking kill her, kill her." This track is from the perspective of a psychopath that is obsessed with someone. It shines a light on some very serious topics that many musicians are too afraid to talk about. Unhealthy obsession and being stalked are very real issues, and "Stalker" is the perfect way to encapsulate them.
I don't particularly have a least favorite song on this album, however, I do have some tracks I listen to less than others. "Sasshole" and "She Knows" are two I don't listen to that often. It isn't that I dislike them, there's just better songs on the record. Every track on "This Is How the World Ends" is actually very enjoyable. There isn't a single bad song on this album.
With all that being said, I'm going to give "This Is How the World Ends" four out of five stars. I'm only docking points because I said before, there are songs I don't listen to as others. Every track on this record is great in its own way, and I can't wait until the day I finally get to hear these songs live.
