REVIEW #1: 92/100

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Halsey’s comeback is well and truly in full swing. Late last year with the release of the Marlboro Golds EP, she announced confidently that she had not only done some growing up in her time away, but that she had reconnected entirely with what made her want to make music in the first place. As entertaining as the EP was, the anticipation was always well and truly on a full length record and the run up to what that eventually became, Cosmic Horror, was a time of great excitement for Halsey’s energetic fanbase. The album’s concept blends pop culture and film references together to create a narrative that touches on Halsey’s journey in the two years she took away. Described as the darker side of the coin to Marlboro Golds, the album promises a deeper dive into not only Halsey’s discoveries, but into the weird and the experimental.

Unsurprisingly, she pulls it off with flying colors. 

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“Knotty Pine” opens the album with what is best described as exposition, a set up for what’s to come. It acts as the door through which the entirety of the album to follow tumbles through, but to call it simply set up is a disservice to it. The production work exists in a vacuum, feeling both fresh and vintage. The horns liken back to the 80s, but the modern edge that’s applied to it gives a timeless feel. It’s accompanied by a simple but memorable melody, performed delicately by Halsey. Lyrically the song touches on themes that Halsey has touched on before, namely the state of the world as we know it, but what keeps it from feeling stale is the more mature perspective she takes on the matter. It’s a solid opener and while it cannot be called the best song on the album, it gets us started confidently and on the right foot. There’s been much written about “Morning Manson Girl” already. The song kicked off the era proper and it’s not difficult to see why. Melodically and production wise, it’s an earworm and you’ll find yourself humming it once the album is long over. Lyrically, we get the first glimpses of the slew of pop culture references sprinkled throughout the album, this time a metaphor focused on the famous Manson cult to express a manifestation of political apathy. The song is a complex and bold lead choice and in context of the wider album, it gains some strength that was partially missing from it’s standalone release last month. “Flux” is where the album finally takes full flight. Titled after the antidepressant Halsey found herself a consumer of, the song dives deep into the adverse effect some can experience on medication. It’s not a rarity for artists to turn to mental health in their lyrics, but rarely (if ever) has it been done like this. This is a complicated and very difficult matter to address, but Halsey does it with such a refined approach that it’s hard to be left in anything but awe. The melody is haunting, the production is pitch perfect, and the lyricism is some of the best, if not THE best, Halsey’s ever presented us with. It’s an astounding piece of work and the first essentially perfect offering the album gives us. 

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“Daisy” is a unique song in both it’s sonic department and lyrical department. Inspired by the concept of the “manic pixie dream girl”, the song is a reflection on Halsey’s romantic life but this song is more than just another forlorn romance track. It’s a dense, both sonically and conceptually, meditation on the places Halsey has found herself in. The production is primely vintage, falling in line with the acid and psychedelic rock of the late 60s but with the jaded edge of the 70s. The song feels big and intimate all at once. It’s another standout and prime single material. “Love Hotels” touches on Halsey’s love-hate relationship with the idea of cinema, wrapped around a reference to a film she fell in love with last year. The strength of the metaphor, portraying her downfalls as plot points of a film, is one of the smartest spins on the concept of personality flaws. The song is dreamy, intoxicating, and it’s impossible to not get lost inside of it. It takes your breath away and never gives it back. Everything from the lyrics to the melody haunt you, invade your head, and holds you prisoner for it’s entire runtime. A stunning track, and that’s putting it mildly. “Posing in Bondage” is a solid addition to the tracklist, but it doesn’t quite stand shoulder to shoulder with what has come before it. Conceptually, it’s another unique offering, this time going to Halsey’s conflicted relationship with sex and intimacy. The concept cannot be faulted, and her lyrics are gamely up to the task as well. However, the production and melody that comes with it doesn’t quite come off as remarkable. It’s very well assembled, but it feels somewhat one note and lacking in the adventure of the previous songs. Though it’s an average length, it feels as if it goes on for longer than it does by being repetitive in sound, though it seems this is deliberate and not accidental. It’s not the strongest offering here, but it’s still a great song and not worth skipping. 

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“Awaken the Dreamer” deals in the mythology of H.P. Lovecraft, depicting the rise of Cthulhu and the dawning of Halsey’s realization that the end of the world may not be so bad after all. The song’s lyrics are dark, depressing, and heavy but all the more perfect for it. It’s demented stuff, but done so well that it feels prophetic (and it just may be, who knows). The production is similarly dark and oppressive, channeling the echoes of the apocalypse into a twisted soundscape. The only place the song is let down is in it’s melody which feels too one note to stand confidently alongside it’s words and production, but even still that cannot distract from the might and heft of the track. “2077” is one of two epics on the album, this one detailing Halsey’s previous struggles with suicidal tendencies. Lyrically the song presents us an honest and raw look at what it’s like to be in the state, but as good as the lyrics are they are not the star of the show here. That goes to the production. Starting slow, the song builds gradually until it explodes into a cacophony of chaos. It mows you down, pinning you to the ground under its weight and power and doesn’t let you go until it’s over. It’s a deep and resonant sound and it is unlike anything that’s been heard from a mainstream artist ever before. This will go down as a sonic experiment that quite possibly could change everyone’s approach to production. “Texas City Limits” is a very simple and intimate track that delves into Halsey’s relationship with her father. Ever a touchy subject, the song takes a long hard look at what it means to have a non-constant figure hang over your life in the form of someone who you’re supposed to have an undying devotion to. The song is both emotional and apathetic, close but distant. It lets you in but doesn’t let you stay too long. She walks a fine line on this track and it leaves behind nothing but a beautiful piece that stands as one of the album’s highest peaks. 

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“Where Is My Mind?” is a faithful cover of the Pixies’ 1988 classic. Halsey doesn’t change hardly anything from the song’s original incarnation but she doesn’t need to. It slots into the soundscape of the album perfectly and it makes sense why she included it here. “The Bride” is the fluffiest cut on the album, in line with the feel good songs of the 70s and 80s (in line with this, the chorus includes some lines from Billy Idol’s classic White Wedding). The song is good, make no mistake, but it isn’t in line with the album’s best songs. The tonal shift isn’t at all an issue as it feels by this point genuinely earned, but where it does stumble is in it’s overall sound. It feels rather safe and one note, not really venturing out beyond the course it plots early on. It doesn’t do much to really grab you and hold onto you long enough that you’ll remember it long after the album concludes, but while it’s here, it’s certainly nice and does what it’s supposed to. The album closes with the dense, experimental “Interstate Radio Show”. Delivered as a radio show, the song is in different sections dealing with the overall subject matter of the apocalypse that was prophesied earlier in the album. It looks at death with a mellow sensibility, not afraid of it, but opening up to it. It’s a long sit, but it never wears out its welcome. The vibe is stunning and there could have been no other way to cap off the album. 

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Cosmic Horror is the album that Halsey was always destined to make. Blending together her personal life, film, pop culture, and abstract concepts about life and death, she has managed to create a work that only could’ve come from her. Cosmic Horror cannot be compared to anything else as there has never been an album quite like this before. The concepts, the execution, all of it is done in a way that only happens once in a lifetime. Halsey has always been a popular force in the business, but she’s never made a statement that set herself apart like this before. Children of the Moon was a solid record, but not an all timer. Marlboro Golds was a history making EP, but in line with what we knew from her. Cosmic Horror meanwhile is so many steps ahead that it exists somewhere else entirely. This is what happens when someone takes their time and focuses their attention on doing something original. Halsey speaks a lot about her legacy, and this album is sure to cement it. Her writing, her sonic approach, all of it is sublime. There is no clunker on the album and even it’s “low” points are higher than many artists can ever hope to reach. 

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Cosmic Horror is a masterpiece and will be that which all subsequent Halsey projects are judged against.

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REVIEW #2: 86/100

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It’s been four years since singer/songwriter Halsey has exploded into the music scene with the release of her 2017 debut “Children of the Moon”. Since then, she disappeared from the public eye for two years until her return in late 2020 with “Marlboro Golds”, a 7-songs EP that strayed away from the concept album form that was noticeable in her early work and revealed a new and more vulnerable side of the singer. The ambitiousness of her debut album was replaced on “Marlboro” with unaffected honesty and the single leading narrative was replaced with a diary-like mix of thoughts about love and self-kindness. On a surface level, her transition between “Children of the Moon” to “Cosmic Horror” may seem natural and expected. Both are concept albums surrounding the singer’s internal battles and road to self-discovery. However, “Cosmic Horror” operates on a different and much deeper plane whilst carrying the self-acceptance that came with “Marlboro” and often projecting it through pop-cultural lens. Like the title name, you are given the impression like you don’t know why certain references are used throughout the album until you are willing to explore them yourself. “Cosmic Horror” is a world of its own and it’s a place we all could find ourselves in because in a way, it is a product of our time.

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The introduction to the album comes with “Knotty Pine”, an upbeat happy-sounding song that critically looks at the world in an innocent and sort of ironic view. The song depicts the first baby-steps in macro-existentialism with a sense of blind optimism that prevails over the fear and looks at the world as something that doesn’t have to be understood. “The trees burned bright and the flames burned longer/ The waves swim up to swallow Venice” There is a very clear dissonance between the beautiful airy production and melody with the actual lyrics. Possibly a way for her to emotionally prepare us for the complexity of the “Cosmic Horror” world.

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After “waking up” in Knotty Pine, we get to “Morning Manson Girl”, a song that speaks about how the numbness towards the state of the world leads in the end to self-destruction. Also, the lead single off the record and carries on the whimsical energy of the opening track. “The sun is bleeding/ The mirror on the ceiling/ Says I just can’t ignore/ All of the headlines I’m reading”.

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 “Flux”, a song about antidepressant and anti-psychotic medications, is probably one of the most revealing songs on the album and a personal favorite. Named after the medication fluoxetine, the song has one of the strongest lyrics on the album and is quite different than the previous tracks in in its consistently haunting atmosphere. Perhaps, one of the tracks where Halsey is most straightforward and emotionally naked. “Pick me up and slip inside this flux”

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“Daisy” and “Love Hotels” both take us to the places Halsey does not want to fall to. Whether it is being the manic pixie dream girl or the romanticized self-destructive protagonist. Both songs are a yearning for more in the void of life and are processed through films and characters in pop culture. “Love Hotels” in particular stands out musically with its hard-hitting drum beat, gorgeous synths and catchy melody. “I wanna be the girl who lives and dies inside a screen”

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“Posing in Bondage”, a song about Halsey’s relationship with sex, is another revealing song on the album and is very close to “Flux” in its straightforwardness. In a world where sex attracts attention, Halsey is choosing to address quite the opposite- her lack of enjoyment from sex. A sultry bold track about freeing yourself from the emotional bondage. The beautiful arrangement during the bridge and the melancholic final chorus are perhaps the best moments in the song.

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The production on “Awaken The Dreamer” takes us to a different place immediately with a cinematic intro of police sirens and screaming sound effects that give a sinister feeling as if something bad is going to happen any minute. The song speaks about a sort of surrender to an inescapable apocalypse and the idea that perhaps this tragic ending is just a door to a new beginning. “Awaken” takes the inspiration from Lovecraft’s most famous character, The Call of Cthulhu, one step further with a chorus made of a fictional language from the book or just gibberish for the non-Lovecraftians. Probably the most bizarre track on the album and in the singer’s entire discography but it does accomplish in making you feel like you’re teetering on the edge of the abyss. “Awaken the dreamer/ He’s come up to save us from the mess we’ve created”

“2077”, named after the video-game Cyberpunk 2077, is probably the darkest moment on the album. The 6-minutes song speaks about Halsey’s suicidal thoughts and seeing no future for herself. This personal existential crisis becomes the most significant sign of humanity in a dystopian world where hope is gone and the future is dark. As the strings swell behind her, Halsey sings softly “Before I end up drowning in the concrete, hardened around my feet” before building up to the epic and rich crescendo of instruments near the middle of the song until the very end which takes the song onto a whole other level. It’s a striking example of how this song stands out from the rest and how Halsey uses her musical palette to the fullest in order to convey her emotions as accurately as possible. Definitely one of the best songs on the record.

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In “Texas City Limits”, Halsey acknowledges that in order to “take a plane out of this place”, she needs to first introspect into her own past and where she comes from – her parents. There is no future with no past and Halsey feels as though the lack of presence from one of her parents in her childhood is the source to everything that she is experiencing now.  The song largely speaks about her unwillingness to allow them back in her life after they’ve already left – a boundary she refers to in the song as “The Texas City Limits”. The production carries that vulnerability with a delicate folksy production and soft and intimate vocals that make you feel like you’re sitting there with her by the fireplace. “But the Texas City limits are concrete/ One step out of Austin and you’ve lost me”

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On “The Bride”, Halsey seems to be the happiest on the record. Her choice to use “The Bride”, influenced from Beatrix on Kill Bill, may point out her desire for love to be the driving motive in her life just like Beatrix in the movie. After exploring her love-life in her early work, most noticeably in “Children of the Moon”, she lets go of the self-doubt and aims high for the fairy tale ending she thought she would never be part of. The high-beat electronic production is reconciled with a sunny, sweet and fun melody that is a rare on this record and makes us feel like we’re no longer on “Cosmic Horror”. It’s unclear why Halsey chose to include this song on an album that majorly deals with an internal existentialism crisis but perhaps it is to show that a glimmer of hope and a shot of euphoria is naturally part of it.   

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Halsey chooses to close the album with perhaps the best song off it, “Interstate Radio Show”. At nearly 10 minutes long, “Intersate” is probably the most atmospheric and moody song on the album. The song cuts multiple times to a radio presenter presenting the end of the world allowing us to sink completely into the scene. “Leaving behind distorted audio on the radio”, she sings with the mindset of someone who has accepted death and left her imprint on this world. The cozy nostalgic production is probably the most gripping on the record next to “2077”. The song is executed perfectly from start to finish and allows us to be completely immersed before leaving “Cosmic Horror”.

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“Cosmic Horror” is arguably the singer’s most ruminative record. Halsey proves to still be a visionary that wraps her creative way of thinking onto her unscathed deepest parts of her soul and still have it be revealing and raw.

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The high level of songwriting, the refreshing stirring production and the well-thought-out concepts are what makes this record stand out in today’s music scene and probably become in time to Halsey’s most acclaimed project yet.

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Knotty Pine- 8/10

Morning Manson Girl- 7.5/10

Flux- 10/10

Daisy-  6.5/10

Love Hotels-  9/10

Posing in Bondage-  9.5/10

Awaken The Dreamer- 7.5/10

2077- 10/10

Texas City Limits- 8.5/10

The Bride- 7.5/10

Interstate Radio Show- 10/10

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