Nessa Barrett Takes us to Have a Cigarette at the Club in ‘AFTERCARE’
Nessa Barrett is bringing us music for sad girls at the club with AFTERCARE. In her second studio album, Barrett transitions from the dark themes of young forever to a sexy, effervescent sound that still has some grit to it. Taking us out for a smoke, Barrett brings us through a sonic journey with her right outside of the club.
The title track opens the album interestingly with the use of reversed vocals that adds a fun, experimental touch. “AFTERCARE” is a short introduction to the story of the album and gives us a quick hit before we get into the real buzz of this cigarette.
The album continues with hits like “P*RNSTAR” and “HEARTBEAT,” which get you the initial high that charges you back up after a few drinks. There is also a nice musical shift with “DISCO (FT. TOMMY GENESIS)” from the slower introduction into a quick-paced club beat. Tommy Genesis adds a great verse to the track that expands upon the illustration of the club space Barrett puts us in.
“PASSENGER PRINCESS” and “MUSTANG BABY” take us on a joyride around the club: we meet a cowboy who lets us ride shotgun in their Mustang. And I, like Nessa Barrett, have longed for the touch of a cowboy who drives a Mustang. Barrett gives us that touch with our cowboy while also giving us the fantasy of being his cowgirl.
“MUSTANG BABY” successfully counters an issue that has been caused by the rise of TikTok music: the loss of the bridge. It brings us back to the era of pop where great bridges prevail, and provides a needed closure to the story of the song.
The second half of the album is the part of the cigarette where you’re getting a little too high, losing yourself in your head, and start to question your life choices. “RUSSIAN ROULETTE” marks the beginning of this second half. A sound somewhere between Lana Del Rey, James Bond and Billie Eilish permeates the song with chimes reminiscent of Del Rey’s album Born To Die.
While the beginning of “RUSSIAN ROULETTE” investigates an interesting comparison between love and the game of Russian Roulette, the song unfortunately cuts short and ends that study pretty abruptly. “BABYDOLL” continues the Bondian sonic exploration, though, with great use of reverbed vocals, a hitting bass and plunking guitar. Her self-infantilization by equating herself to a babydoll that is treated as replaceable causes the listener to empathize with her issues in her situationship. She sings, “Haven't seen the light of day / Collecting dust, what's my name? / Used to be your everything / Now you want a gift receipt.”
The cigarette depression peaks at “GIVEN ENOUGH.” Barrett is crying because she has given all that she has and has nothing left to give. She has, “Given you all of me / Even the air I breathe.” Barret interrogates not only the person she is talking to, but herself and what she has left. The halftime beat and swinging bass give a lot of power to the verses. And then the arpeggiating piano in the chorus under her belt pushes us over the hill and onto the final leg of the album.
“GLITTER AND VIOLENCE” continues this exploration of the self and how women are made to perform. We’re slowly coming back from cigarette depression, but are in the middle of the release. Barrett opens us up to the realization that we can perform femininity and sexuality to get what we want, but it comes at a cost. The song transitions into “PINS AND NEEDLES,” which begins to ground us. We have analyzed all of the trauma we’ve been through and we’re feeling nihilistic towards those who have brought us that trauma. She sings, “Ice-cold, cut off my blood flow/It's all pins and needles, babe.”
Providing a change to the pace of the album, “STAY ALIVE” settles us back into reality. At the end of a cigarette, you remind yourself that you are here and you are now. Barrett finds herself falling into a hole in “STAY ALIVE,” and reminds herself of the things she stays alive for: the moments of her angels by her side is “All the shit that I'd die for/Is the shit I stay alive for.”
The closing song, “DIRTY LITTLE SECRET,” is even more experimental than the rest of the album. The arpeggiator creates really nice ear candy throughout the song that keeps the listener locked into the song. There is also an encouraging switch in viewpoint: throughout the album, I kept on thinking, “Girl, stand up! Stop spending your time going crazy over boys.” But “DIRTY LITTLE SECRET” takes control of the situationship and avoids catching feelings.
Just like a cigarette, AFTERCARE has us longing for more—but we’re about to get it. AFTERCARE DELUXE will be released February 7 and we’re excited to get another hit.