the good and the bad
when listening through this album i found myself wishing that the songs were about anything other than a love interest. literally all but one song is about a woman and i started getting topic fatigue as it progressed. however, another thing i found myself thinking during my listen-through was “goddam they know how to produce music”. instrumentally, if that’s the right word for a electronic album, this album is so fucking catchy. i found myself jiving at literally every available moment. it makes me want to turn the vocals into a bobbled gibberish that follows the same cadences so that it would deliver the full experience without the light incel vibes.
nowhere in this album is this notion felt more than with the song that initially brought me to this album back during the pandemic: “Hi I Miss You”. the backing track has me bouncing left to right whether i like it or not. it’s just that good. but then the lyrics are kind of whiny and begging toward someone who, based on how they describe it, doesn’t want anything to do with them. it almost seems to border on harassment with lyrics like “I’m sorry that I’m stuck here while you’re so far away/ I wish you’d call me back/ Cause maybe I could help/ You should let me in someday”. brother, they clearly don’t want to talk to you and the distance doesn’t seem to be bothering them. you got to work on letting it go.
but maybe this album was part of the letting go process, i don’t know. people process trauma in different ways i just wish they didn’t involve harassing people.
the in the middle
that being said, not all the lyrics are bad like in “Tickets”. the chorus of the song creatively expresses getting ghosted by someone you like while the bridge vividly describes some intimate moments from the past with that person. i found myself relating and making connections to some of the heartwarming-now-heartbreaking moments of my life which was a powerful feeling. but then they come in over the top and ruin it again with the line “So I’ll go/ With someone new/ Who doesn’t make me think of you/ She’s better than you anyway“. that last line turned a nice song about remembering the good times with someone and the pain of not getting to have any more into a kind of hateful and bitter song.
recommended tracks
if i had to recommend two songs from the album i would recommend Hi I Miss You and Red Lights for their dance-ability.
review by pass the headphones
where to find Red Lights at Midnight
album information
album name: Red Lights at Midnight
artist: Retrograded
original release date: April 3, 2020
