Review Summary: I keep waking up in pools of sweat with this feeling in the back of my head
Are you stressed out? I’m not at the moment, thanks for asking, but anyone that is in college or has been through it understands that during this time stress is an ever-present thing, even when you think you
shouldn’t be stressed. It’s like this looming feeling of dread and anxiety that follows you no matter what you’re doing or who you’re with. While it may not always be noticeable, it only takes a quick reminder to set you off into a spiral of uneasiness and fear. And people wonder why so many students are borderline alcoholics nowadays…
Luckily, there’s a way around this feeling and, no, it’s not getting so drunk and high that you forget about all of the things that you have to do. You see, stress can be thought of as this energy that you have built up inside of you and it won’t go away unless you figure out how to channel it into something. Many people convert it into activities like workouts and sports while others use it as a zen-like meditative energy. Yet, for myself and people like me, there is this special little thing called music.
So let’s transition
The Obsessives are pretty stressed out and you better believe they are gonna let you know about it on their debut full length,
Heck No, Nancy. It’s exceedingly clear to see that lead singer Nicholas Bairatchny has many mental burdens, whether it’s girls, school, failed friendships, or just the frustrating sensation of not feeling anything at all. These grievances culminate on ‘Home’ where Bairatchny wails, “
I wanna move back home//fixated on who I call home//thinking about dropping out ”. Whether he went through with it or not doesn’t really matter, it’s the sentiment found behind being so hopeless that giving up seems like the best option. The album begs to be understood while it wallows in self-doubt and resentment, yet it never asks for your pity. There’s this endearing sense of self-awareness that’s carried throughout the lyrics which is seen in lines like, “
the daisies aren’t a metaphor ” and “
if I am my decisions, am I confident or timid? ". It’s one thing to correlate personal feelings to a broader impression of relatability, but it’s another to disregard the need for empathy in favor of admitting one’s accountability for their own sufferings.
Although the lyrics portray this stress-conversion theorem (an entirely made up theory, mind you), it’s the music that makes it all the more convincing. Using only a guitar, drums, and a microphone, the two-piece emulate their own stresses while somehow comforting those who are listening. The album is full of mathy guitar licks, catchy, yell-along one-liners, and empowered drumming. When you add all of that together plus some impressively abrupt dynamics, you’ve got yourself a comprehensive and successful emo release. They pummel through jammed out riffs while always rhythmically staying in sync, allowing for the music to be
just predictable enough to be satisfying to listen to. And when you’re able to feel the bridge in ‘Nodding Off’ build into a cathartic and explosive climax, you get this sense of inclusion, like the music was meant for you. Maybe that’s why it feels so therapeutic to listen to. No one wants to feel left out, especially when you’re experiencing your most intense moments of stress and anxiety. The Obsessives understand this more than anyone else and they’ve managed to craft something that is bigger than their own problems yet still equally as reassuring.
So are you still stressed? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
