hopeless fountain kingdom - Halsey

When Halsey announced her new album, hopeless fountain kingdom, and released the lead single, "Now or Never", I was curious as to the direction she would move with her sophomore release. Her first album, Badlands, was gritty, dark alternative-pop that was surprising and refreshing, and relatively unknown until "New Americana" blew up on the radio. The release after the breakthrough album is always one to watch, because it can establish the tone for the rest of that artist's career.

From it's opening, hopeless fountain kingdom establishes that it is an epic story, a musical journey that Halsey takes the listener on over the course of the 16 tracks. "The Prologue" set the stage, with Halsey reciting the actual prologue from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. It lets the listener know that this is not simply a collection of songs, but a tale of lovers and tragedy. 

hfk finds Halsey experimenting much more than she did on Badlands, moving beyond her darker sound and exploring different aspects of pop music and other genres. Songs like "Don't Play", "Eyes Closed", and "Lie (feat. Quavo)" give off stronger hip-hop vibes than her other material, which is not surprising considering how much hip-hop music she posts about listening to. Her opening track, middle interlude "Good Mourning", and the closer, "Hopeless (feat. Cashmere Cat), are all examples of Halsey pushing herself into songs that are not necessarily traditional in terms of structure. She also goes more into the full pop mode, giving us an almost throwback to mid 2000's pop (maybe a dark Britney Spears) with "Walls Could Talk", a short and stripped song that utilizes very few elements to make a catchy song that leaves you wanting more. Another standout track is "Sorry", the piano driven, stripped down song that has Halsey lamenting about the mistakes she made with handling her "unknown lover". 

Halsey not only experiments with sounds but with her range, with her vocals throughout seeming to show a growth and push towards the limits of her capabilities. Songs like "Angel On Fire", "Devil In Me", and "Bad At Love" feel her voice soaring higher than we've previously heard. It feels like she's grown more comfortable, more confident in her singing and in herself. It comes off in a lot of the lyrics of her songs and in the way that she delivers them; she doesn't hold back in talking about her exes ("Bad at Love", "100 Letters") or in talking about the things she has discovered about fame and what comes with it ("Alone"), . She also touches upon something more personal about herself; her sexuality. She has publically stated that she is bisexual, and it comes out often in the wording of her lyrics. It's really cool to see someone talk about it without hiding it or being subtle, like on the songs "Strangers (feat. Lauren Jauregui)" and "Bad at Love", the later of which she references failed relationships with both men and women. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with the way that Halsey approached her second album. She knew the kinds of expectations that came after her first album released, and it didn't seem to affect her in terms of putting out an album that people were expecting. She did what she wanted to, musically, and retained her musical freedom while still making something that she knows that her fans will enjoy and something that tells a story in the process. 

Rating: 4/5

Recommended: "Walls Could Talk", "Bad At Love", "Strangers", "Heaven In Hiding"