Olivia Rodrigo - "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love" Album Review

If you, like me, are a millennial or older who is trying to be Hip With The Kids On TikTok, you may have noticed over the past few years a deep reverence for older musical artists taking flight. At least on my FYP, I'm just as likely to see Gen Z-ers gushing about the likes of Jeff Buckley or Alice in Chains as I am Doja Cat or Taylor Swift. There's a nostalgia for by-gone aesthetic trends they barely lived to see, too, from Y2K to Tuscan interior design and more. I chalk this up, like pretty much everything happening culturally in 2026, to the digital age: young people yearn for a time where style was more personalized, rather than curated by an algorithm trying to maximize views, likes, and revenue. There was a sense of authenticity and genuine creativity that can often get lost as today's acceleratingly-corporatist America seems more interested in following a formula than developing something new. There's also, of course, the oft-discussed fact that smartphones and social media have in many ways isolated us from those nearby, weakening our sense for real human connection and forging an increasingly-lonely society.

Ever since her mainstream breakout at the age of 17 with "drivers license," Olivia Rodrigo has been Gen Z's biggest figure in the pop music landscape. Fittingly, her music captures her generation's penchant for looking backwards culturally and pulling those influences to the modern day. 2021's SOUR and 2023's GUTS both found their musical footing in 2000's pop rock, influenced by and compared to the likes of Paramore, Avril Lavigne, and Lily Allen. However, Rodrigo has always managed to combine those older sounds with a current perspective - she writes of romance in ways best understood by those who grew up in a world of dating apps and Instagram DM's.

For her third album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, Rodrigo has retained that current lyrical point-of-view, but musically she's turned the clock back even further - trading her iPod for a Walkman, the sk8r bois for the goth kids. Most obvious is the album's three nods to legendary alternative outfit The Cure: lead single and album opener "drop dead" references their 1987 hit "Just Like Heaven"; second single "the cure" is, of course, the name of the band (and was released on World Goth Day); and singer Robert Smith hops on "what's wrong with me" to become the first featured artist across Rodrigo's three albums to date. Rodrigo and main collaborator Dan Nigro branch further into 80s post-punk and college rock flavors on "maggots for brains" - which sports a New Order-esque guitar riff - and "purple," which is built around a repeated lyric of "melt with you," calling back to Modern English's signature 1982 track.  Even structurally, you seem pretty sad bucks streaming-era trends; the album is fifty minutes long, no song is under three minutes, "the cure" is five minutes long with no single edit made available, and closer "cigarette smoke" nearly reaches six minutes.

All that said, the narrative Rodrigo spins across you seem pretty sad is undeniably youthful. Split into two halves - appropriately, "girl so in love" and "you seem pretty sad" - it details the full arch of a relationship from internet crush to wishing she could forget. "drop dead" opens with Rodrigo "stalking" her love interest on social media and testing their astrological compatibility. "u + me = <3" bears a text-lingo title, and "my way" sees Rodrigo calling out another woman for "posting another pic in clothes that I know are his." Across the first seven tracks that make up the "girl so in love" half, she's completely smitten. 

Things change drastically on "the cure," the first track of the "you seem pretty sad" section and the album's emotional center. Surrounded by strummy acoustic guitars building to a string-laden cathartic finale, Rodrigo details how this relationship has uncovered her wounds (which, on "honeybee" earlier, she had claimed were healed). "I thought I found the antidote with you / But my head is full of poison, and my heart is full of doubts," she cries out. Her conclusion? "It don't matter how your love feels anymore / it'll never be the cure." The repeated refrain of "I'm unraveled" really tells the whole story. Compared by many to "Tonight, Tonight" by Smashing Pumpkins, "the cure" crystalizes everything Rodrigo's music has represented across her three albums, and in this humble blogger's opinion, has quickly becoming the crowning jewel of her discography.

From there, the relationship is in tatters. A brutal three-song stretch of "begged," "what's wrong with me," and "less" sees Rodrigo broken and despondent. The quiet restraint of "begged" still cuts deep with its chorus' closing statement: "nothing's quite enough when I know that to get it I begged." Robert Smith is a welcome guest on "what's wrong with me," though it is funny to hear him sing a verse that, while emotional, was clearly originally written with the 23-year-old Rodrigo in mind rather than a 67-year-old who's been married since 1988. Throughout this second suite, only "expectations" feels more like a spunky "fuck off" than a bitter "fuck you." It's the most self-reflective and downtrodden we've ever seen Rodrigo; rather than "onto the next one," this time it feels like she's tired of trying. The final moments of the album have her wishing the memories could "go dark."

With how emotional you seem pretty sad is, it's remarkable how catchy Rodrigo & co have made the album. The bright-eyed "drop dead" and the confessional "the cure" have both been stuck in my head since the singles dropped. "maggots for brains" has a delightfully bright chorus, and "expectations" is still fun despite coming in the album's latter, darker half. Rodrigo's voice is as compelling as ever, from the tongue-in-cheek spoken-word verse of "drop dead" to the delicate balladry of "honeybee."

There's more cooks in the kitchen helping this time, too; while GUTS was almost exclusively written by Rodrigo and Nigro, you seem pretty sad credits a number of songwriters. Steph Jones joins the fold for the first time on "my way," having worked previously on two of the decade's greatest pop hits in JADE's "Angel of My Dreams" and Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso," Amy Allen, who did contribute to GUTS-era numbers "pretty isn't pretty" and "scared of my guitar" (as well as also working on "Espresso"), appears on five different tracks. Sasha Alex Sloan, known for working with Charli XCX on sister tracks "Track 10" and "Blame It On Your Love," shows up on "what's wrong with me." And rising producer Jim-E Stack, fresh off producing Lorde's Virgin, co-produced "purple," and his flourishes are noticeable.

Speaking of Lorde - there's a through line connecting her sophomore effort Melodrama to you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Much like Rodrigo, Lorde broke out in her teens with a pop record that eschewed what was stylistically popular at the time. She then returned with Melodrama, a matured tale of progressive heartbreak assembled with a key collaborator in Jack Antonoff. It became a flagship breakup record for younger Millennials; time will tell if you seem pretty sad can be the same for Gen Z a decade later. One thing is for certain, though: three albums in, Olivia Rodrigo keeps getting better, and continues to build her legacy as the voice of a generation.

New Album Quick hits - April and May 2026

So I accidentally skipped this for April... 😅 so today we're doing two months of blurbs on new 2026 releases! Note that some of these came out earlier in the year and I was late getting to them. This is *roughly* in reverse chronological order but don't hold me to that.

Hilary Duff - (Mine) EP

Re-recorded renditions of seven of Duff's greatest hits. Some - "So Yesterday," "Come Clean" - are pretty much straight-up recreations, while others have slight tweaks. "What Dreams Are Made Of" is remixed into a clubby number, and I think I prefer it to the original? Also, finding out that Duff's daughter Banks is the one whispering "wake up" at the beginning of "Wake Up" did make me cry a little.

Fave tracks: "What Dreams Are Made Of (Mine)," "Come Clean (Mine)"

Kim Petras - Detour

First win: no more Dr. Luke! Second win: Frost Children and Porches producing! Third win: Petras' strongest, most complete album. Hooks for days, fantastic grooves, and more emotional depth than you would've expected from the "Slut Pop" singer. The electroclash revival of 2026 steams ahead with Detour.

Fave tracks: "I Like Ur Look," "Brutalist"

Kurt Vile - Philadelphia's been good to me

Listen, I've been a Kurt Vile fan for over a decade, so I know the drill - this is front porch music, music to stroll around your neighborhood on a warm morning to. There isn't a larger ambition here, the man's in a seemingly permanent state of relaxation. That being said, something about Philadelphia's been good to me feels one step too far into aimlessness. The vibes are here, but not a ton else - we don't have the variety and guitar theatrics of Wakin on a Pretty Daze, the country outlaw feel of b'lieve i'm goin down..., the classic rock worship of Bottle It In, the heart-warming family dynamics of (watch my moves). Philadelphia has all the basic ingredients of a Kurt Vile record but lacks that extra little twist; it's by no means bad, but not one I can see myself choosing over any of his other records with any regular frequency.

Fave tracks: "Chance to Bleed," "Red Room Dub"

Girl Scout - Brink

Loud, bright, punchy indie rock done so so right. Recalls the bands that were big in my college years in the late 2010's without sounding like a retread. Those guitars will punch you in the face occasionally, too, something more bands nowadays could make use of.

Fave tracks: "Crumbs," "Ugly Things," "The Kill"

Cola - Cost of Living Adjustment

Every time in the past I've listened to Cola, it's mostly made me think, "man, I miss Ought" (singer Tim Darcy's last band). Their first two records were finely-tuned, tightly-wound post-punk of the cleanest variety, but without any major distinguishing features. My hopes were high after hearing pre-release single "Conflagration Mindset" that this time around there would be a bit more to grab onto. After hearing the entire record now, I mostly still just miss Ought.

Fave tracks: "Conflagration Mindset," "Hedgesitting"

Feeble Little Horse - Bitknot

Three years is a long wait for just a 25 minute record, but Feeble Little Horse's third record takes enough twists and turns that you can see the time was well-spent. They maintain the distorto-pop sensibility of Girl With Fish while adding more jagged song structures and electronic influence. Somehow loud, warm, and unsettling all at once.

Fave tracks: "Cradle," "Doorway," "Dior"

Rock Burwell - Obsession

A wonderfully eerie soundtrack for the year's best horror film thus far. From the looming, Ethel Cain-esque guitars of "Into Darkness" to the ironic swells of "Love is in the Air" (parts one AND two), a remarkably impressive debut film score for Rock Burwell.

Fave tracks: "Into Darkness," "Can You Sleep With Me?"

Foo Fighters - Your Favorite Toy

A childhood favorite of mine (first rock concert!) that I've still kept up with over the years, Foo Fighters surprised everyone with the excellent But Here We Are in 2023, nearly three decades into their existence. Your Favorite Toy, however, is somewhat of a joyless lean into their hard-rock side, lacking the hooks that made them so big in the first place. In what's becoming a trend in this article, not necessarily a bad album, but not one I'm going to reach for when there's 5 or 6 better options from their discography.

Fave tracks: "Caught In The Echo," "Asking For A Friend"

American Football - American Football (LP4)

I've actually always found American Football to be a tad overrated; other than the obviously magical "Never Meant," I've though they were a bit too twinkly and wispy for my taste. Their newest record, though, cuts deeper than before; the sound is thicker, full of enough knots and weight to keep it firmly planted on the ground. Mike Kinsella doesn't hide his vices, either, making for a heavy listen in more ways than one. 

Fave tracks: "Wake Her Up," "No Feeling"

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

I doubt I'll ever love a Courtney Barnett album as much as I adore her debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit from 2015 - my freshman year of college, nevertheless - but Creature of Habit shows she can still crank out a great batch of cheery indie tunes. The Australian singer-songwriter sounds bouncy again, and mixes in some lovely guitar work for old times' sake. Perfect for a walk in the park or a trip to the insectarium.

Fave tracks: "Mantis," "Wonder," "Another Beautiful Day"

Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere

I have been waiting since 2018 for a Kacey Musgraves album to grab me like Golden Hour did. Star-Crossed was a total dud for me, and Deeper Well was a pleasant morning listen but ultimately too passive for what I wanted. Middle of Nowhere, on the other hand, has Musgraves fully back in the saddle. Her signature tongue-in-cheek approach to lyrics is on full display, from the unabashedly horny "Dry Spell" to the rivalry-crushing "Horses and Divorces," where she and Miranda Lambert give their own Tejano-country "Girl, So Confusing." The album also makes liberal use of slide guitar, which you won't hear me complain about a lick. 

Fave tracks: "Dry Spell," "Loneliest Girl"

Danny L Harle - Cerulean

PC Music for space travel. More in the vein of contemplative dance contemporaries like Oklou and FKA twigs than full-on club jams, Cerulean sees Harle at his most polished and therefore perhaps most ambitious. Features from modern greats like Caroline Polachek, Dua Lipa, PinkPantheress, Clairo, and the aforementioned Oklou always help.

Fave tracks: "On & On," "Crystallise My Tears"

The Scythe - Strictly 4 the Scythe

Pretty much exactly what you would expect from Denzel Curry doing a fun side project! Great energy throughout and not meant to be taken too seriously. Certainly not on the level of Melt My Eyez See Your Future, for which we're still waiting a proper follow-up, but as a genre-romp mixtape, this works very well.

Fave tracks: "LIT EFFECT," "TAN"

Snail Mail - Ricochet

Snail Mail's first record in five years shows she's retaining her songwriting acumen while dialing up the 90's influences - perhaps due to her ongoing relationship with Momma's Etta Friedman. Smashing Pumpkins-esque guitars soar on tracks like highlight "My Maker," whose lyrics underscore a more philosophical angle from Jordan at this point in her life.

Fave tracks: "My Maker," "Butterfly"

Deep Cuts - Angel Olsen, "Chance"

After years of paying her dues in the indie-folk circuit, Angel Olsen blossomed into something else with 2019’s All Mirrors. For her fourth studio album, Olsen garnished her homespun lyrics and yearning vocals with an orchestral soundscape. The front half of the album very much melds these elements together - opener and second single “Lark” still revolves around strummy guitars, the violins only becoming central as the song climaxes. However, by the time you reach album closer (and today’s featured song) “Chance,” any and all rustic features are abandoned for a grandiose arrangement of pianos and strings.

“Chance” starts off by highlighting Angel Olsen’s stunning, aching vocals. “What is it you think I need?” she sings, her voice echoing through the parlor. It’s a callback to “Give It Up,” a track off 2016’s phenomenal MY WOMAN about clinging to a love that is falling apart. “Chance” operates as a sort of sequel, with the narrator no longer willing to fight for the relationship in question. Brilliantly, Olsen chooses to tell this story against a backdrop straight out of an Old Hollywood film. She leans into a boozy, loungy vocal style that suggests both a deep exhaustion and a mysterious allure. When she croons "I know how it all comes back/ I know too well," you can practically smell the cigarette haze looming over the stage in the dimly-lit 1950s Los Angeles jazz club where this performance is surely taking place. 

Halfway through the first verse, as she sings “I’m leaving once again,” the instrumental sparkles to life: drums enter, the strings lift off, and the piano starts climbing the scales. She glamorously lowers her register for the second verse: “I’m walking through the scenes / I’m saying all the lines / I wish I could un-see some things that gave me life.” Olsen is done trying, done rehashing the same arguments, done with even the positive memories that are keeping her around in what is ultimately an unfulfilling relationship.

In the final refrain, Olsen pleads with her soon-to-be-ex-lover to try and be present with her: “Why don’t you say you’re with me now with all your heart?” she sobs. The final minute is an instrumental coda as credits roll on their relationship, and on All Mirrors. Angel Olsen has always had a retro sound, and has always done a fantastic job at conveying how heartbreak feels. But with All Mirrors, and perhaps best of all on “Chance,” she traded the humble, pastoral sounds of her early career for a lush and stunningly beautiful world. Even as she’s further expanded her artistry in the 2020’s, “Chance” very much remains Olsen’s most cinematic and quite possibly most heart-aching moment yet.

Deep Cuts - Nelly Furtado, "Wait For You"

 

Nelly Furtado's Loose was a transformation. Teaming up with renowned producer Timbaland for her third album brought a newfound energy, teleporting her from the coffeehouse to the club. "Promiscuous" had a beat as sexed-up as its lyrics, and "Say It Right" holds up today as one of the 2000's slinkiest, catchiest hits. This album went platinum in the US, three of its songs have over a billion streams on Spotify (the aforementioned two plus "Maneater"), and had a whopping eight singles - and somehow, none of them were the absolutely brilliant "Wait For You." Which makes it the perfect candidate for the latest entry in the Deep Cuts series!

"Wait For You" is written by the same team of Furtado, Timbaland, and Danja that worked together on practically every song on Loose. Despite not being a single, clearly somebody had faith in the song - digital re-releases feature a "Wait For You Interlude" that consists of studio cross-talk between Furtado and Timbaland wherein the former calls the beat "wicked." 

And she's right! "Wait For You" combines hip-hop percussion with Turkish folk music, with most of the song built around a sharp riff played on the bağlama, sampled from Muhlis Akarsu's "Allah Allah Delsem Gesem." I've mentioned before that a good rhythm section can function as a hook on all its own for me, and that's certainly the case here. Timbaland's drum beat here frequently leaves its normal groove and locks into an intense snare-kick drum combo, creating a bunch of mini crescendos throughout the song. Plucky strings add some sass along the way. Furtado rides this beat through both the verse and the chorus, it only relenting near the end when it switches from the drum machine to hand drums.

Lyrically, "Wait For You" is a straightforward tale of dedication to one's love. "I'll wait for you until the heavens fall / I'll wait for you until the end of the world." Dramatic? Sure! Obsessive? Quite possibly - especially since the lyrics don't make clear if this is an existing love or an unrequited one. But Furtado sells the hell out of it. By the time she delivers the earworm-y "'Cause right now feels just like a movie" at the end of the chorus, you're all in.

Because I am truly a freak for drum beats, I probably love this song more than most - but I do still find it fairly astounding that with two-thirds of the main tracklist of Loose receiving the single treatment, "Wait For You" was never one of them. Despite that, it's always one of the first songs from Furtado that I'll jump to.

FKA twigs Forms Holy Terrain at Coachella 2026

From the first time I heard "Two Weeks" in 2014 to last year's double dose of Eusexua, I've always found FKA twigs to be one of the most inventive artists around. Her singular sound defies definition, evolving over time and incorporating elements of R&B, dance, trance, industrial, art pop, and so much more. In many ways, I consider her our generation's Björk: inspired by deep underground electronic music; high-concept visuals and fashion; occasional forays into the movie business; lyrics that detail heartache but also celebrate overcoming that pain.

Last year, twigs had to pull out of Coachella and several other US tour dates due to visa issues. So when this year's Coachella rolled around and the livestream schedule came out, twigs' set was one I earmarked straight away. Like Björk, every stage of FKA twigs' discography has come with a carefully-orchestrated rollout and new vision for her artistry. 2025's Eusexua and the subsequent Eusexua Afterglow felt especially considered: a celebration of rave culture and club kids that required two albums and a tracklist-altering reissue to tell its story, all in the span of a year. 

With that in mind, one couldn't fault twigs for using her Coachella set as a way to share her definition of Eusexua (a word she invented, by the way) with the world. And while she certainly did that on Sunday, her set felt like more than a summary of her current era, or even making up for last year's absence; rather, this was a fully-realized twigs and the culmination of everything her career has been building towards over the past decade-plus.

The set started with twigs alone on a bed, red braids twisted to look like a pair of headphones. She began not with Eusexua opener and title track, nor any track from the Eusexua era at all. Instead, she opted for "Meta Angel," a non-single off of 2022 mixtape Caprisongs. This more understated beginning swelled into the next song, another slightly deeper cut - "Figure 8," the tension-filled opening track to her astronomical-but-still-an-EP M3LL155X. From there, the set turned into a seventy-minute rave spanning twigs' entire career. Eusexua and Afterglow highlights like "Drums of Death" and "Hard" were present, as were a surprising number of cuts off Caprisongs (which this set has convinced me to re-evaluate). Waves of impressive choreography reminded us of twigs' roots; at one point, she pole danced with a sword tucked under her arm. The mix was relentless, each song bleeding into the next, and constant strobes kept the energy high. Even the interludes to allow costume changes were enthralling, as a full-on ball broke out at one point, once again hat-tipping the black and queer communities where the electronic music that inspired Eusexua originated.

With this set, twigs was successfully building the world in which eusexua is the norm, where "you're not a human anymore, you're just a feeling; pure nothingness but also pure focus." The kinetic energy that comes from a group experience and bonds everybody in a room, in many ways becoming a single entity. (The kind of unity that comes from, say, watching a phenomenal festival set.) By recreating a rave, twigs also recreated the way art builds community.

Then came the final number. After over an hour of thumping bass and flashing lights, everything was stripped away for "Cellophane," the emotional ballad that closes Magdalene and has in truth become twigs' signature song. The song is sparse - piano and twigs' whispery, pleading vocal accompanied only by piano for the first two-thirds of the song. The set dressing reflected this - dancers stepped away, a single spotlight lingered on twigs. Lyrically, the song is the absolute opposite of "eusexua," a heart-wrenching ballad about feeling isolated and that you weren't a good enough partner to a lost love. The refrain asks, "Didn't I do it for you?" Closing the set with such a stark reversal was a brilliant, deliberate choice, but - and call me naïve if you must - the next part didn't seem as planned. Just before the final part of the song, where the drums finally come in, twigs paused, seemingly about to cry. In that pause, the crowd roared as one. Lights came up, and twigs seemed almost startled as she looked out on the sea of cheering faces, telling her she had done it for them, that she was good enough, and that they were right there with her. Eusexua.

Now absolutely crying, twigs finished "Cellophane" and its beautiful final chorus and haunting coda. She retreated back to the bed on which she started with "Meta Angel," ostensibly alone but in actuality surrounded by the exact love and community she was seeking to create. At the end of the day we're all individuals with our own pains and insecurities, but the power art has to bring us together can't be overlooked. As "Cellophane" ended, twigs brought out her entire crew for a curtain call over the more upbeat "Lonely and Exciting Road," emphasizing once again the teamwork that goes into a show like this.

In a weekend full of great sets - shoutout PinkPantheress, Turnstile, Geese, and Sabrina - FKA twigs' set was my favorite. It had hits and deep cuts alike, energy, themeing, and spectacle. She continues to impress me at every turn, and my only regret is not being there in the desert with her.

New Album Quick Hits - March 2026

Some quick blurbs recapping the albums I listened to for the first time this month! I might make this a monthly series, not sure yet. It's a good way for me get some short thoughts on paper (pixels?) about records I don't have a full review ready to go for, be it for lack of content or lack of time. 

Slayyyter - WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA

Phenomenal dance music. Builds on the Sheffield-dubbed "avant-disco" sound of Britney Spears' Blackout by adding a harder edge and a knowledge of what TikTok is. One for the gays! 

Fave tracks: "DANCE...," "GAS STATION," "CRANK," "YES GODD"

Robyn - Sexistential

Consistently good record, other than the title track which didn't click for me - others will love it though! Lacks the insane highs of Body Talk and Honey but very good for being thirty years into Robyn's career.

Fave tracks: "Dopamine," "Talk to Me," "It Don't Mean a Thing"

underscores - U

They really wanted us dancing this month didn't they?? We knew from singles like "Music" and "Do It" that we were gonna have bangers, but the more subdued songs here also excel; "Lovefield" and "Body Feeling" are standouts. Hyperpop that dials the "hyper" back just a touch.

Fave tracks: "Music," "Body Feeling," "Lovefield"

War Child Records - Help(2)

Hard to evaluate as an album given it's a compilation from various artists, but there's some great stuff in here and its all going to a fantastic cause. Having Olivia Rodrigo, Depeche Mode, Cameron Winter, and Arooj Aftab on the same record is a bit surreal, but it does work. Rodrigo opting to cover The Magnetic Fields' all-time love-classic "The Book of Love" is particularly wonderful.

Fave tracks: "The Book of Love," "Black Boys on Mopeds," "Don't Fight the Young"

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope.

Jessie Ware meets Amy Winehouse with all of the grandiosity of a Bond theme. Also reminds me a bit of Little Simz' instant classic Sometimes I Might Be Introvert and Lily Allen's recent earth-scorcher West End Girl. Stunning vocals of course, but I do find the constant drama to be slightly overwrought, and some of these song titles (along with the album title) are definitely a little too corny to forgive fully.

Fave tracks: "I Know You're Hurting" "Beware... the South London Lover Boy," "Where Is My Husband!"

Green-House - Hinterlands 

A pleasant if unexceptional ambient-ish album. Great for a dewey morning, but don't expect anything mind-blowing.

Fave tracks: Nothing in particular, meant to be heard as an album.

Harry Styles - Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.

Flat, plain and simple. Individual tracks are fine, but it never coalesces as an exciting record. "Aperture" promises a tension that builds to a whimper, with tracks like "Season 2 Weight Loss" failing to deliver any kind of meaningful impact. "American Girls" is charming in how Harry manages to sound like Panda Bear singing over a Cut Copy beat, and I can see why it's the one getting radio play. But by and large this album just kind of trudges on by.

Fave tracks: "American Girls," "Taste Back"

Deep Cuts - The Blue Nile, "From a Late Night Train"

 

Has a song ever sounded this lonely?

I recently watched Chungking Express for the first time, Wong Kar-Wai's 1994 classic. Ostensibly, the film tells two loosely-connected stories of people falling in love in the aftermath of heartbreak. However, I think this description misses the mark a bit. My takeaway from Chungking Express was not that its four protagonists found deep love connections; rather, I saw it as extremely lonely people choosing to be lonely together. (That may sound paradoxical but hey! It's the emotion the movie left me with.) 

Upon finishing the film, I was compelled to throw on The Blue Nile's seminal 1989 album Hats. I can't quite explain the connection my brain made between the film and this record: perhaps it was the rain slickened concrete streets of Hong Kong on which the film takes place; perhaps it was the lingering mood of the darkly-dreamy score; perhaps it was simply that the title Chungking Express resembles the name of a train and reminded me of the track which this post centers around. I suspect those familiar with both Chungking Express and Hats will be able to draw the same subliminal connection between them as I did.

Hats has had somewhat of a resurgence as of late, becoming a cornerstone example amongst internet music nerd circles of a "sophisti-pop" record should sound like, alongside the ever-beloved Sade. Perhaps more wide-reaching, though, was when Taylor Swift referenced lead single "The Downtown Lights" on her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department. A co-sign from the world's biggest pop-star was sure to garner extra attention towards what was already the album's most well-known hit.

With Hats, however, I've always had a different favorite track: "From a Late Night Train." The shortest song on the album at four minutes, "From a Late Night Train" strips away much of the lushness found elsewhere on Hats and leaves singer Paul Buchanan nearly alone as a dejected narrator. The song title itself is evocative, conjuring up images of a mostly-empty, slow moving train, with Buchanan sitting solitary in a dim corner, probably half-drunk, talking to nobody in particular. He sings of a relationship fallen by the wayside, accompanied only by looming synth ambience and a few stray instruments. Wilted horns are the city commiserating with Buchanan as he rolls on by; a piano barely manages to stagger through the song. Buchanan's delivery is of a broken man, as he barely mumbles out the song's refrain, "It's over now / I know it's over." He's not up on a pedestal, declaring his heartbreak with big notes and loud emotions. He mostly just seems so fucking tired.

I can see why "The Downtown Lights" is the flagship song off Hats. It's shimmering, it's illustratory, and it's got a magical chorus. It's also where Buchanan's vocals are more audibly expressive, with the way he's almost screaming by the end of the song. And don't get me wrong, I think it's an absolutely phenomenal piece of pop music. But for me, "From a Late Night Train" has the edge. It's one of those songs that delivers profound emotion by being so quiet; the lonely malaise found here may be more subtle, but in many ways I find it more powerful.

In Chungking Express, several songs appear multiple times, famously including "California Dreams" by The Mamas & the Papas and film star Faye Wong's own cover of The Cranberries' smash "Dreams." In the first of the film's two segments, there's a lesser-known reggae song that recurs - Dennis Brown's "Things In Life." The song's chorus seems to be encouraging the film's recently-dumped characters to get over their lovelorn ways: "It's not everyday we're gonna be the same way / There must be a change somehow / There are bad times, and good times too / So have a little faith in what you do." Though of course not included in the film, "From a Late Night Train" seems to include the response of both male protagonists: "But I can't let go." Perhaps that was the latent connection my brain was making after all.