Album review: Everything means nothing by Blackbear
Everything means nothing
Blackbear
Interscope
Score: B-
The wounds are still fresh on Blackbear’s fifth full-length album everything means nothing. Tackling relatable issues like heartbreak, loneliness, social media and illness, this rollercoaster of an album was bound for success — it caters a little something for everyone.
The internet has been a clear influence on Blackbear, opening up the album with the 2020 summer anthem “hot girl bummer,” a play on words for the term “hot girl summer” coined by rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
While “hot girl bummer” is more of a satire track, the album quickly transitions into a much more despondent vibe with “me & ur ghost.” The song takes on the feelings you go through after a breakup and describes the empty hole in your life where that person was.
Written consecutively, “i feel bad”, “i feel 2 much” and “i felt that” touches on Blackbear’s chronic illness and the role it plays in his mental health.
But while Musto’s vocal talent and the weight of his experiences are not in dispute, the songs themselves have little contrast from one another. The songs and their topics can get old and a sense of deja vu overwhelms the listeners.
Everyone needs a heartbreak record, though, and everything means nothing can be just that. Blackbear began the album cynical and heartbroken. And while the heartbreak resonates through the whole album, there is a sense of hope and closure in the final acoustic track, despite his uncertainty if he will ever “smile again.”
Blackbear wanted this to be an album that people could dance to even at their lowest, and even if the songs melt together it’s safe to say that Blackbear succeeded to bring one endless, sombre dance party.
– Mackenzie Mason
