Ashley Frangipane’s 2015 debut album, “Badlands” shows a dystopian land inside her alter ego, Halsey’s, head that has fascinated millions. Her dark indie sound mixes with pop in the most wonderful way. She portrays a broken girl stuck in the wasteland of her thoughts. Her motto for the album was, “Those are the Badlands, we don’t go there.” In this ominous, dark, and twisted album, we venture into Halsey’s personal Badlands, and explore every nook and cranny.
“Castle” hits the ground running in an ominous sound about Halsey “heading straight for the castle.” Empowerment fills your ears when she says, “If you want to break these walls down, you’re gonna get bruised.” The song contains a choir singing “Are you sane?” during the chorus, while Halsey maintains a dark sound that will hook you in.
“Hold Me Down” contains a sample from “Easy” by Son Lux. This is by far her most provocative song, and she is no saint. Halsey expresses her feelings and battle with her demons, which take place in her opening lines, “My demons are begging me to open up my mouth.” A banger that has made frequent appearances in her world tour, and on my playlist.
“New Americana” shows all the diversity and different ways a person can live. “We don’t feel like outsiders at all, we are the new americana.” One verse is dedicated to a “Young James Dean… but he could never love somebody’s daughter.” Halsey is bisexual, and she has no problem showing it. She always encourages her followers to be proud of who they are, whether they are straight or not.
“Drive” is said to be Halsey’s only happy song. Despite these claims, “Drive” is slower and has a more lonely vibe to it. Not only the sound, but the lyrics play a role in the feeling you get from hearing it. You can’t be surprised, with lyrics like “All we do is drive, all we do is think about the feelings that we hide… and California never felt like home to me until I had you on the open road.” The song contains actual sounds from a car, like a windshield wiper on a rainy day and a CD being ejected from the stereo.
“Roman Holiday” has some pep in their step, but it tells a story. The lyrics show her recounting nights from her youth, being young and free and careless. “I remember the fear in your eyes the very first time we snuck into the city pool, late December with my heart in my chest and the clouds of my breath, didn’t know where we were running to.” The main theme of the song is her being young, running away, and getting away on a roman holiday. The music matches the same feeling, the lively and upbeat song gets me going every single time. It encourages young rebellion and rule-breaking, a teenager’s cup of tea.
“Ghost” is a Room 93 veteran, but that doesn’t change its banging verses and relatable feelings. The song recites a story of a partner drifting away, either caused from drugs or something else. They become a ghost, emotionally unavailable and impossible to reach. Halsey struggles with this, not knowing what to do or what caused it. In the verses, she speaks of the ‘way she likes them.’ She describes this in her first verse, “I don’t like them innocent, I don’t want no face-fresh, want them wearing leather.” She starts right off the bat in an in-your-face-apologetically fashion, her favorite. As the song goes on, she describes how lost she is without this person, how difficult it is to live with an emotionally unavailable robot; a ghost.
“Colors” has recently became a hit, with its unique description of her feelings. This song also deals with an emotionally unavailable partner, where it seems to be the aftermath of its predecessor, “Ghost.” The song is also rumored to be about The 1975’s lead singer, Matty Healy, who briefly dated Halsey. She describes her emotions as colors, “Everything is blue, his pills, his hands, his jeans.... Everything is grey, his hair, his smoke, his dreams and now he’s so devoid of color.” Her lyrics shine light on her recurring struggle with partners that aren’t emotionally attached.
“Coming Down” is a slower, acoustic song that portrays Halsey praying that the sun will rise soon. Her dark thoughts have clouded everything, and she hopes and prays the sun will rise and save her. She contemplates her habits in relationships, almost scolding herself for being “a fool for sacrifice.” A personal favorite of mine, indeed.
“Haunting” shows the aftermath of a toxic relationship. Her opening line show it, “I was as pure as a river, but now I think I’m possessed.” She battles within herself about her want for her partner to keep on haunting her, or to let it go. The knowledge that it’s bad for her doesn’t stop her from wanting it. The chorus is simply her “begging you to keep on haunting me.” The grim and literally haunting synth music behind her voice will hook you in as it did for me.
“Gasoline” is a reflection of herself. She opens by asking questions to the audience if they are like her, “Do you tear yourself apart to entertain like me? Do the people whisper about you on the train like me, saying ‘You shouldn’t waste your pretty face’ like me?” This tragic song about becoming something unknown to yourself is one of Halsey’s most popular songs. As it goes on, Halsey slowly falls apart. She becomes the machine she sings about.
”Young God,” a personal favorite, has an even darker and alluring than its neighbors. Halsey talks about a boy who made her feel on top of the world, but broke her down to the bone, “He says… We’re gonna be legends… If there’s a light at the end, it’s just the sun in your eyes.” He makes her feel worthless while making her feel like a queen, and it takes a long time to realize that that’s not love. The gloomy lyrics will make you feel rage, ‘How dare this boy talk to anyone like that, he doesn’t own them!’ Welcome to Halsey’s world; you finally understand.