By Hope Hummel and Julia Conforti, staff writers
Badlands was released on Aug. 28, 2015 and was instantly a hit, gaining 40,000 views within the first week of the album’s release. The album has 16 songs and adds up to a length of 40 minutes and three seconds. Badlands was No. 2 on the iTunes chart and five of the songs earned a place on the top 20 charts.
Badlands was composed by artist Halsey. The genre is alternative, but fits in a category made by followers called MD. It’s a female dominant genre which includes artists such as Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, and Melanie Martinez.
Ashley Frangipane, or Halsey, as she’s better known, is a 20-year-old solo artist. Born in New Jersey, Frangipane refers to herself as “tri-bi,” as she is bipolar, bisexual, and biracial.
Growing up, she had a musical background playing string instruments. She eventually learned how to play guitar, and played small shows for money. In addition to her musical talents, she had planned on going to college as a fine arts major, but stuck to music when she found she couldn’t afford it.
Her stage name, Halsey, is an anagram for her first name, Ashley. Halsey is also a Brooklyn street she spent a good portion of her time as a teenager.
Each song is based on personal experience that artist Halsey has experienced, so there are a few mature themes. None of these negative aspects of life are romanticized in slightest, instead, they are told in a story like format as aesthetically pleasing music plays in the background. Halsey’s smooth, rich tone wonderfully complements the melodies and the two components weave together in a seamless way. Songs serve as a chapter to the bigger story that is Badlands, and none of the songs seem out of place or different from the other songs.
There are songs that have intense beats which are obviously meant to make the listener feel uneasy, and others which are soothing. Badlands does a lovely job of illustrating all of the feelings that Halsey felt during the times this album is centered on.
Lyrics are poetic, and something people will most likely be using as their Instagram captions for a very long while. They are figurative and metaphorical lyrics, which add to the artistic elements of Badlands.
Badlands is an important contribution to the alternative music genre, and surely will be talking about Halsey for a long while.