“I love you, trackstar,” an album by the artist Stinkus, is a journey that takes you to the corners of your emotional spectrum to experience connection in various depths and perspectives. Whether that connection is for another person, the self, or with the world around, the songwriting perspective paints a picture of perseverance and pain through living a life driven by capitalist mentality, and determining a direction motivated by competition or curiosity. As someone who has always gravitated towards embellished lyrics to portray deep emotions, I was very entranced by how concise the lyrics were, and how the artist uses a number of techniques to elicit feelings through repetition and harmony layers, giving these lines emphasis through the vocal arrangement, with each iteration of a repeated line feeling more intense than the last. In a genre that I would consider an amalgamation of indie rock and pop, this is a unique album that manages to satiate many moods, and is worth the deep listen to feel the love of the work the artist has put into these songs.
While I don’t necessarily like to review albums track by track and in chronological order, there is something about this album that might require that. Without going into all the tracks, there is a story to be told in these songs and their sequencing. With opener “Plastic Blue”, there are notes of hope and optimism, with declarations of enjoyment of social activity and thoughts of starting a shared life. I absolutely love the layering in the chorus; while simple, it feels like a dance between the vocalists, and potentially attitudes in this shared life. The following tracks dig deeper into adjacent feelings, with lyrics indicating submission, savoring moments and feelings, and compromised boundaries. The tone changes in “Casino,” which itself uses gambling as a metaphor for wanting more in life despite “scoring at the casino” and whether anything (the casino winnings or more) will mean anything. It is unclear what this self-conflict is necessarily referring to, but the idea of ownership and winning it all is one to keep in mind. There’s also a dog somewhere in this track, but I’m unsure if this is Maggie (later tracks).
Something beautiful about concise lyrics is that they can be inspired by pieces of the songwriter’s mind that may not necessarily be known to the listener, but there is a way Stinkus chooses words to capture contradictory emotions within the same song (felt in the later song “Maggie My Dog”). Songs like the title track make reference to hardship, justification of pain, and the abrupt nature of catastrophe, all while repeating a declaration of love and persistence (and a great progression from the themes of the previous “Curiously Intent (underdog)”). The instrument layering and arrangement render this song incredibly danceable and complement the dark lyrical undertones. I love it when a song uses a prechorus effectively to make a chorus powerful, and it is evident not only in this song, but also in many throughout the album, that this is a strength in Stinkus’ songwriting.
“Holy Virgin” is an incredibly fun song, with a beat driving the verses, accompanied by a hypnotic riff. The instrumentation is fantastic, with the presence and absence of individual instruments allowing for lyrics and vocal delivery to shine in such a way that keeps the song dynamic. I can’t help but sense a vulnerability in the lyrics, masking in defiance and cynicism through the introductory verse. And if I might project, these lyrics can resonate with any sort of misfit who chooses to deviate but has a deeper desire to find acceptance, whether with the world, with some sort of higher being, or with themselves. As is a common theme throughout the album of being part of a capitalist society, the desire to deviate from such a lifestyle can come with a loneliness that is difficult to live with.
Stinkus uses harmonies incredibly well throughout the album; the song “Wide Eyed” manages to use similar build-up techniques to deliver a powerful chorus about preserving innocence and curiosity in a world where destruction is rampant through capitalism and the desire to “have it all”. While I’m unsure about the intention, I find the placement of this song and the themes of preserving a particular mindset that contrasts the “have it all” mindset in “Casino” to show the eventual conflict and resolution that came with the disdain felt in the prior track. Following this song is the existential “Coming To An End,” lamenting about responsibilities, presence in the lives of others, and a struggle in self-perception. With references to an impending ending, the song highlights a dark, depressing feeling that can remain hidden during a person’s attempt to maintain the balances in life, all while combating battles that aren’t so understood by the people around us. While the latter song expresses such a dark reality, I would hope that it also serves as a reminder to us to always be empathetic to our surrounding folks, as belonging and acceptance can be found in something as small as kindness.
While I haven’t touched upon my favorite track of the album yet, I wanted to emphasize the importance of track sequencing and stories within albums. An artist crafting an album wants to share a series of songs that tell a story in some sort of order, a story to the audience through a fluctuation of emotions and themes. And while “Maggie My Dog” may sound like a simple song devoted to a dear pet (possibly in “Casino” or “Coming To An End”), the placement between two darker songs makes me believe that there are things beyond the surface that drive the song’s mood. The album has managed to take the listener on a journey from feelings of devoted love, persistence throughout the cruelties of life, the cynicism that breeds from such persistence, preserving innocence in the same cruel life, the internal battles that come with cynicism, and finally, a world crashing down in a devastating end to the album. Whether this album is a reflection of a chapter or a lifetime of the artist, it is a beautiful and heartbreaking depiction of the themes in life we are often afraid to confront.
My favorite track is the final track. “The Oath” is titled as such to depict a promise made between more than one person. Contrasting the beginning of the album, there is a reminder that the breaking of the oath was something the narrator barely considered while “overdosing on love songs,” but ultimately, might have had that lingering thought. With the depiction of a home falling apart in flames to represent the end of the world, this breaking of an oath signals a catastrophe to the narrator’s life. I found myself sitting in deep melancholy, absorbing the words and delivery, and picturing a life falling to pieces, with a fire consuming a home (is this the home from “Plastic Blue”)? While I may not know the length of the oath nor the nature of the connection, I can only imagine that this break and disconnect are a driving motivator to reflect on lessons and epiphanies throughout life.
I’ve listened to this album several times, and I’m sure there’s so much more to uncover with each listen, as I am sure I will discover. Even if it wasn’t the intention, it feels like a concept album, and the journey you take upon listening is enriching to the soul.
Written by Christian Ang
