Nicole Dollanganger - Heart Shaped Bed ALBUM REVIEW

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Hear me out on this one. I had known about the existence of Nicole Dollanganger for a few months, mainly because I’m friends with a fan who listens to her music. The most recent 100 gecs album was the first time I heard that pitched-up voice, and it got me intrigued. Since 100 gecs is such an experimental group, I had no idea what type of music Dollanganger had made, only knowing that it was on the alternative side of music. Yes, I did research on her for the 100 gecs review, and well, here we are. This is her latest record, 2018’s Heart Shaped Bed, and let’s just get right into it.

Heart Shaped Bed is a dream-pop album. Actually, more like nightmare-pop. Right off the bat, I can say that this takes on some DARK THEMES. Dream-pop is meant to be hypnotic, but while this is hypnotic, there’s something wholly unsettling about this record that I kinda like. Many of these songs are monotonous but in a good way, I think? It also has an eerie pop-noir vibe, and this feels like it would fit the soundtrack to a horror movie set in a Gothic mansion, like a Crimson Peak clone or something. The writing here is also pretty dark. Dollanganger’s writing touches on themes like sexual violence, loss, and sometimes eating disorders in a very vulnerable way that can relate to people that have experienced these things. I mean, that’s pretty much it on what I have to say about this. It’s all in the music for this one.

Heart Shaped Bed is a look into the loss of innocence in the world. Nicole Dollanganger is one of the only artists that could pull off this type of music, and that just goes for her entire discography. This is the pinnacle in her discography, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.


8/10



Stream Heart Shaped Bed here

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube Music




Shout-out to the one friend that’s a Nicole Dollanganger fan for talking about it a lot.

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