After the huge success of the first studio album BADLANDS which gave us access to the disturbing and obscure unconscious of the singer Halsey, she unveils her second album entitled Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.
Romeo and Juliet
This time, Halsey uses William Shakespeare's quintessential tragic love story Romeo and Juliet as a metaphor for her own romantic relationship. In fact, Halsey set up two main characters Luna and Solis, belonging to two different houses (Aureum and Angelus), obviously alluding to the war between the Capulet and the Montaigu.
Not only does she set up these characters but she takes up the original prologue of the work in The Prologue, the first track of the album, to bring the listener into the passion, violence, sensuality and anger of the album.
More personal than ever
Halsey is not the typical pop star: she is rebellious, more than ever in Don't Play, feminist and bisexual in Strangers with Lauren Jauregui, member of Fifth Harmony, a pearl of the album, bipolar, and she talks about it without remorse. She welcomes her own demons to make art.
Lyrics such as "I find myself alone at night unless I'm having sex" on the wonderful 100 Letters and "Sorry that I can't believe that anybody ever really starts to fall in love with me" in the ride Sorry shows us that his honesty is definitely a key to his success.
Sound adaptations
Halsey created her own sound in BADLANDS, a mix of pop, electronic, and indie. Indeed, the only song that could be associated with the same universe is Heaven In Hiding which takes the same intensity as Control on BADLANDS. However, in Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, she takes the sound atmosphere of artists of the moment, including The Weeknd in Eyes Closed co-written with him and the riff of Rihanna's hit Needed Me in Now Or Never, the first single from the album. Halsey clearly wants to adapt to the sound of now. However, these songs are effective but less interesting than when she decides to explore a new sound in her own right, especially on Alone, a marvel.
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom is a successful sequel to BADLANDS. We have the intimate statements, another concept and the dark and nostalgic atmosphere. However, Halsey focused some of her sonic evolution on other artists and not on herself, which is felt strongly on the album. We understand the choice but BADLANDS is proof that originality is proof of success.
8/10
