Reneé Rapp’s new album, Snow Angel, has come out. From tracks like “I Hate Boston” to “Talk Too Much,” all of them capture Rapp’s vibe.
Rapp’s opening track, “Talk Too Much,” captures the feelings of self-sabotage and believing you don’t deserve happiness. The lyric that speaks to me is “talking myself out of my own happiness” as we all have been in this position where we accidentally say something we don’t mean. The usage of the drums throughout the track causes a sudden place for dialogue, as it makes it feel like we, as the audience, are the ones that she is trying to speak to. Before listening to the whole album, my favorite song was “Talk Too Much,” but it may or may not changed when I listened to the album for the first few times.
What does Rapp have against Boston to create a song called “I Hate Boston,” as she has no connection to Boston? It’s much slower than “Talk Too Much” but tells the story of a relationship breaking down. It lets Rapp put her heart on the line, telling a story about a breakup, whether it is real or not. Due to the song’s slow pace, one can feel the emotion and sadness in her voice when she sings the line “and casual’s the way you chose to leave”.
“Poison Poison” is probably my favorite song from the album. The lyric “I am a feminist, but, bitch, you’re making it so hard for me to always be supporting all women” is like Shakespeare. It felt like a written by Finneas and Billie Eilish. It felt different to all the songs on the tracklist, but the song deserves to be on the album. To me, the song represents fake friendships and ex-best friends.
“Gemini Moon” has a beautiful opening of a guitar not being accompanied by any other instrument except for Rapp’s voice that comes in. Again, it’s only Rapp’s voice with some layering used, showing her vulnerability in her tone. We can all connect to this song due to anyone who, like myself believes in horoscopes and blames their actions on what position the moon.
“Snow Angel” was the first song released from the album when it was announced. The whole internet fell in love with this song, as they should. This song is for everyone struggling with a breakup and becoming a new person after past trauma. I love the use of drums and what happens every time she sings “kills me,” as it strengthens her vocals. The song goes on this journey from using really harsh instruments to transitioning to becoming really soft with a piano right at the end of the song.
“So What Now” tells the story about how to deal with a “post break up” and the possibility of seeing each other in the streets. I’m surprised with how upbeat the song is due to the use of beats in the songs. I would love to see an acoustic version of the song, as the song has the potential to sound even better with a version like that.
“The Wedding Song” is beautiful. There’s nothing else I can say. Except that I really thought that this song was going to be like a love song and now I’m Kim K ugly crying listening to Reneé Rapp.
Track 8, “Pretty Girls,” is upbeat compared to the previous songs. It tells the story of experimenting with people of the same sex. I want to get up and start dancing to this track with my friends. It’s a song I would like to hear in the clubs on a night out.
“Tummy Hurts” captures the hurt of seeing a partner move on with someone else. As the Lion King would say it’s the circle of life and it happens. Heartbreak is something we can’t escape. This song should be an Alicia Keys song or Janelle Monae. I was shocked by how good the song is. The callback is similar to the one in her song “In The Kitchen.”
The placement of “I Wish” after “Tummy Hurts” was so clever, running with the theme of heartbreak. In this case, somebody trying to move on from someone passing. The song captures what it means to grow up with life becoming so different from how you viewed it when you were younger. The song touches upon is the idea of holding onto things or an inability to let things go. The one thing I enjoyed about this song was how the guitar would stop amid the song while it was strumming because it added a whole different depth to it.
The second to last song, “Willow,” has one of my favorite lyrics from the album which is you “don’t have to use your own tears just to grow your own roots”. I think that’s a beautiful way to describe dealing with depression and sadness in your life. It’s important to note as well of the significance of a weeping willow tree and the connection that the tree has to emotions. “Willow” is such a beautiful yet emotional song that captures what it means to be there for someone when they’re having a bad mental health day.
The last song on the track list, “23,” tells the story of growing up and caring too much about people’s opinions. I love how the song ends with the outro: “I hope that I’ll see twenty-four, I hope I’ll understand me more, I hope my bed is off the floor, I hope that I can care less, but I’m afraid to care less.” The song tells Reneé’s journey of her life at 22, what it became at 23, and things that she wants to change when she becomes 24. In reality, she knows that nothing is going to change.
What’s your favorite song from Snow Angel?
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Reneé Rapp goes on tour from August 19th to the 4th March 2024. Get your tickets here.