Throwback to Badlands, am I right? Except not really because I think this album is going to sound a whole lot different. But it is another concept album and it is Halsey, so I'm ready. I was born ready. Though I must say that I'm a little nervous Badlands was so good that this won't be able to live up to it. I desperately hope I'm wrong.

Apart from "Now or Never" and "Eyes Closed," this is another first-listen review. I find those a lot more fun to make, although my opinions do end up changing sometimes. I'll dislike a song at first and then a week later it's one of my favorites (cough "Woman" by Harry, cough). So anyway, shall we get into it then?

Here we go!

1: THE PROLOGUE – 8.5/10

I normally don't rate things like this, as I can hardly consider them full-fledged songs, you know? But I've rated this one because I know Halsey does concept albums and I know this one is an important beginning. She sets the entire scene with a passage from Romeo and Juliet to a low hum and an ancient organ before her own words kick in. I have to say that I legitimately had no clue what she was saying for the most part and had to look up the lyrics, but once I did, this part gave me chills. As a song, "The Prologue" doesn't have many original lyrics, but that stanza it has is undeniably Halsey and does the job they need to do: make me excited and prepare me for what I'm about to listen to. I'm not the biggest fan of the vocal effects, but it'll grow on me. Rather than not rate it, I'm not going to choose favorite lyrics as I literally love the entire bit of those original lyrics.

2: 100 LETTERS – 10/10

I really like the slow build with the music after "The Prologue." It's a good intro to the actual music. And speaking of that, the beat is so chill that you almost don't expect the chorus to be as catchy and boppy as it is, but listen, the chorus is basically a bop. I'm so pleasantly surprised by this. Also I feel like this will ultimately be a song many people can relate to; to an extent, even I can relate to this. Definitely into this. Favorite lyric: And now the whole thing's finished and I can't stop wishing that I never gave you anything.

3: EYES CLOSED – 9/10

Not going to lie, when this song was first released I wasn't into it. Like, I wanted to be and I tried really hard to like it, and it just wasn't happening. It took a surprisingly long time, but thankfully here I am. It's suddenly a lot more beautiful now – I think something I'm noticing with Halsey's music is that you have to give it time to hit you, and you have to be willing to pay attention to it. It's not that as a stand alone this song is super deep or anything, but in the story she's telling with this album it's an important insight to her situation and her relationship with this unnamed person (perhaps the boy in the "Now or Never" music video?). Favorite lyric: I know where to lay. I know what to say. It's all the same.

4: HEAVEN IN HIDING – 10/10

So, this track is everything, it's fine. Actually it's not fine. First of all, her vocals are so clear in this one – there are hardly any vocal effects, which I love, because you can hear her voice get all gritty during the verses and I think it makes the rising pitch and volume in the choruses so much more powerful than they'd have been with some of the effects she's been using in other tracks. But yeah, I love the lengthy chorus and all the descriptive lyrics (seriously, what a little poet – someone's taking hints from Brendon Urie). Again, another one I'm pleasantly surprised by. Favorite lyric: And when you start to feel the rush, a crimson headache, aching blush, and you surrender to the touch, you'll know.

5: ALONE – 9/10

So we have an oldschool intro that sounds like it's coming straight from a soundtrack to an 80s movie. But also when I listen to this song I feel like I'm clubbing, so the vibes are very mixed. I also can't really place where this would be in the story she's trying to tell with this album, so honestly this one just seems very random to me. That being said, as a stand alone it's great. It's fun to listen to, kind of another bop – the chorus is easy to learn and the verses are short enough that the same thing applies. Her vocals remind me a lot more of how they sounded on Badlands, which were super indy/hipster/you know what I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, that isn't a bad thing, it's just...her voice. Anyway. Favorite lyric: But if you ask why I'm distant, oh I'm running away.

6: NOW OR NEVER – 10/10

Again, when I first heard this song, I was not a fan. I kind of remember looking it up and just being like...how did she go from Badlands and "Hold Me Down" to this? Like "Eyes Closed," it took me so long to really start enjoying this one, and now that I have I'm super into it. My favorite part is in both verses where she goes high, but I enjoy the tune of the verses in general. The chorus I always found a little underwhelming, but now that it's grown on me I don't mind. It makes a good first single, but I'm interested to see if there's another track on this album yet that I'd have chosen instead (if it were up to me). You've all heard it before, so I'm not going to keep rambling. Favorite lyric: I'm callin' it a night now, wishing you were 'round with me but you're in a different town than me.

7: SORRY – 9.5/10

I think it's safe to say this isn't something we've ever really heard from Halsey before. This ballad is a breath of fresh air, especially because I was low-key nervous she dropped a Justin Bieber cover, which, thank god that's not what this is. "Sorry" sees Halsey becoming introspective and self-reflective, taking a look at her destructive and problematic behavior toward her own relationships that she claims to continue ruining due to her own ignorance and inability to believe people can love her. It's heartbreaking in that sense, especially because rather than being a sad ballad about lost love, it's about what caused the lost love – herself. It's pretty and upsetting and I love it. The solo piano is also something I don't think we've heard since "Trouble." Favorite lyric: Don't realize how mean I can be 'cause I can sometimes treat the people that I love like jewelry.

8: GOOD MOURNING – 9/10

Okay. Like "The Prologue," this is a track to move the story along. The entire first chunk of it obviously comes from somewhere, but I'm not sure where (if anyone knows, hit me up in the comments with some education). Regardless, it's very...anticipatory. Like, this boy is talking about how there's something out there somewhere, but he's not sure where and he can't find it, and that he's been told not to trust the moon. And then Halsey comes in, and again, I have chills because something's coming. That's what this track feels like. Something's coming, something's about to happen, get ready. And I'm not sure if I'm ready.

9: LIE feat. Quavo – 8.5/10

The thing with this song is that I love Halsey's verse and her voice on the chorus (which is...one word), and I love the intro music and basically everything apart from Quavo. The lyrics in his verse are perfectly fine, it's just his voice, or the vocal effects on his voice maybe. Whatever it is, I'm not into it. I think it could sound a lot better with someone else singing that verse, but whatever, it is what it is. This feels like something close to the climax of the album, but I could be wrong. I guess we'll see. But it's sandwiched in between two short narrative tracks, so... Favorite lyric: Oh you turnin' red 'cause I'm tryn'a give the impression that I get the message you wish I was dead.

10: WALLS COULD TALK – 9/10

I lied, this isn't a narrative track. I mean it is, but not in the same way "Good Mourning" and "The Prologue" are. Instead, in a song half the length of any other on this album, Halsey describes the aftermath of "Lie," where she and this unknown lover are over (or are they?). And I don't know about you guys, but does this sound like Britney or does it sound like Britney? I think this is the most pop I've ever heard Halsey before. Favorite lyric: I'm about four minutes from a heart attack.

11: BAD AT LOVE – 10/10

This is basically "Sorry" with a few more specific examples and a lot more unapologetic. It's an example of character development that always ends up being evident with Halsey's albums (I say always as if she has more than two). Whatever character she's playing – be it herself or someone fictional – she goes through a change halfway through, or wherever the climax is, and she carries herself differently the second time she sings about it. In Badlands' case, she continues to break down the further into the album you get. Here, she goes from being sorry about her inability to believe love can work out for her to being accepting about the way she is and fully claiming it. It's cool to witness. Favorite lyric: London girl with an attitude – we never told no one but we looked so cute. Both got way better things to do, but I always think about it when I'm riding through.

12: DON'T PLAY – 8.5/10

More aftermath of her breakup with this unknown lover here. This time I feel like I'm clubbing all over the world and there are glittering jewels and sparkling wine glasses everywhere, and the moon is high in whatever night sky I'm under. This scene is set almost entirely with just the opening music, but then the lower verses and fancy words that end most of the lines do the rest. I can't say this is my favorite track on the album, mostly because some of the lyrics make me laugh a little (got it all white like parmesan), but it's still good. I like the first three lines of the chorus leading up to the motherfucker don't play with me. It has good rhythm. I haven't actually been disappointed by a single song yet. Favorite lyric: Go grab someone and find a place to deal with it.

13: STRANGERS feat. Lauren Jauregui – 9/10

I've never been a huge fan of Fifth Harmony, but of all of them Lauren has always been my favorite. I remember finding out that she'd been forcibly outed, and it was so awful. I hope doing this track with Halsey in some way eases that unfortunate situation, especially because this song is as strong as it is because of her vocals. Not that it wouldn't be great as a solo Halsey song, but it's undoubtedly better with a second female vocalist, and I find that Lauren's just pairs with Halsey's so well. I don't remember Lauren's being as gritty as it is in her verse, but I'm into it. And I've never really gotten into Lana del Rey but is it just me or is the chorus sort of reminiscent of her music? I don't know. Favorite lyric: We're just strangers with the same damn hunger.

14: ANGEL ON FIRE – 10/10

This song is actually so pretty. In the context of this concept album, it's like Halsey is realizing that the break up has dulled her, sent her cowering deeply inside her own mind that even if she wanted the attention she used to receive back, nobody would hear her because she's trapped. But outside of the album and as a stand alone, I find this track even more heartbreaking. There are so many little moments that make up the verses that almost have me cringing because they're so relatable. It's like, hearing the way I used to feel put into such blunt words was like a punch in the gut. And then she compares herself to an Icarus and I had Hamilton vibes and god. This feels like the "Control" of this album to me, which is interesting because it appears in the tracklist almost the same time "Control" did for Badlands. Favorite lyric: I used to be a darling starlet like a centerpiece, had the whole world wrapped around my ring. I flew too closely to the sun that's setting in the east, and now I'm melting in my wings.

15: DEVIL IN ME – 10/10

I love this. I feel like you can feel her inner struggle here, wanting to wake herself up and become who she used to be – the part of her she was missing in "Angel On Fire" – but knowing there's a devil inside her that she has to try to let sleep. And then there's the moment of realization that part of who she is is that devil, and in order to become who she once was, she has to wake it up. Meanwhile she's acknowledging all the awful things her unknown lover once said to or about her, as if to remind herself that she shouldn't try to fix herself by going back to that lover. That's how I'm reading it anyway, and I love it. It totally feels like the second-to-last track on a concept album. I'm hoping for a happier ending here than Badlands got. I suppose I'll see if I'm right. Favorite lyric: Now I gotta wake it up.

16: HOPELESS feat. Cashmere Cat – 9/10

This felt like it was totally designed to be the album closer. Like, a lot of artists just write a bunch of songs and then choose their favorites and put them on an album, but this one feels like Halsey had a majority of the story figured out and the rest of the album compiled and then was like "Okay, now let's write the epilogue." It's not a song I feel like I'll listen to often outside of listening to the album as a whole, but I enjoy it. I'll admit though...I have no idea if we got a happy ending or not, lmao. I'm a little confused. I can't tell if she forgave her unknown lover and wants them back or if she forgave them and has accepted they'll never get back together, or if something else entirely is going on. I still somehow feel satisfied with it, so whatever, I'll take it. Favorite lyric: 'Cause you know the good die young, but so did this, and so it must be better than I think it is.

Wow. What a ride. It was a different ride from the one we took with Badlands, but I'm glad. I was worried it wouldn't live up to predecessor, but it's so different that I don't think it has to or ever could. It's its own story and its own album. And I loved it.

I'm just so happy we finally have more Halsey music and I can't wait for more, honestly. I'm so greedy when it comes to her. So yeah, A+ work, and I hope you'll all love it too.

What were your favorite songs? Were there any you didn't like much? Let me know! Let's have a discussion.

Thanks for reading! x