By Ashley Gallagher, Contributing Writer
After the success of her third full-length album, “Manic,” Halsey has released the deluxe version of the album.
She released two new songs, two remixes, two acoustic songs, four stripped songs and her song with Marshmello, ”Be Kind,” on the deluxe version. These additions help to amplify the themes and feelings of the original release.
”Manic” is a reflective album. Halsey takes the time to review her life in a more objective way and talks about her experiences and her flaws. Her new songs ”wipe your tears” and ”I’m Not Mad” are perfect additions to her self-reflective album. Normally, the sounds on her album are very theatrical, however, on this album, everything is much simpler and softer.
”Wipe your tears,” talks about how she is taking care of herself. She opens the song with the line “you know I tell her all the time, ’nothing’s gonna hurt you baby. Nothing’s gonna make you cry.” She reflects on the tears she has cried and how she tries to protect herself. She also says she often relies on other people to take care of her, but not this time; ”I’ll be damned if I let another hand wipe your tears before they dry.”
The second new song on the album is about her relationship with G-Eazy. She sings ”I’m not even mad anymore,” which goes along with the reflective tone. She briefly touches on her thoughts and feelings about how the relationship ended
The newest stripped songs were “3am,” “Graveyard,” “Without Me” and “Alanis’ Interlude.” The stripped songs consist of just Halsey and a guitar, instead of a full production for the songs. This brings a softer tone to the album, even on the song, “3am,” which originally had loose inspiration from her favorite pop-punk artists and featured Chad Smith, the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The stripped songs bring another dimension to her album. They give the songs a fresh, more intimate take for an already intimate album. It is refreshing to have another take on her songs, where we can enjoy the most basic and powerful parts of the songs. The stripped versions highlight the lyrics, melody and very basic chords of the album, which is arguably the best parts of the songs because that is what makes it memorable.
The acoustic songs are even softer with “Graveyard” and “You Should Be Sad.” “Graveyard” is actually played slightly slower on her acoustic guitar than the original, which emits a distinct somberness from the songs. They are as raw as possible, especially with two of her most emotional songs to date.
The two remixes are for “Without Me,” which is what she refers to as a “breakup note.” One remix has late singer Juice WRLD, and the other is remixed by ILLENIUM. It Gives a fresh take on her most popular song to date. On Oct. 5, the song’s two year anniversary, the song was the longest-running song on Billboard’s Top 100 and went seven times platinum in the US.
Clearly, her album still holds weight in the music industry, especially with her song “Without Me.” There is something special about Halsey revealing her biggest flaws in the form of a song. She reminds us that she might be a big superstar, but at her core, she is human. She goes through breakups, she gets cheated on and she has flaws. Her reimagined songs give another twist and dimension to her already relatable and raw album.
gallagap17@bonaventure.edu
