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Halsey stays true to herself on 'The Great Impersonator'

Halsey draws from musical artists of all genres and eras for "The Great Impersonator." – Photo by @iamhalsey / Instagram

Friday marked the release of "The Great Impersonator," the latest album from Ashley Frangipane, also known as Halsey. The announcement was made back in September through a video collage of in-studio and live performances. As per usual with her work, her personal life connects with influences from past artists.

But with this project marking the New Jersey artist's fifth studio album and first with Columbia Records, she brings things to a much larger scale.

It's a departure from her most recent release, the 2021 record "If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power," which centered itself around the stages of motherhood. Halsey's always played around with big concepts — the best comparison is her album "Manic," which focuses on mental health.

Regardless, her perspective has always inspired curiosity. Her lyricism unearths the depths of her experiences to share truthful realities. 

Every track has a distinct sound that alludes to the artist who inspired it. Throughout October, she teased snippets of the album through photos, each reveal coming with a track preview. The resemblances between the original photography and recreation were striking. She truly brought nostalgia back.

For instance, she highlights Kate Bush in the track "I Never Loved You," layering vocals in a similar manner as the track's inspiration. The aesthetic of Halsey's 2015 debut album "Badlands" makes a comeback with "Hurt Feelings", a tale addressing the complicated relationship with her father. The Evanescence-influenced track, "Lonely is the Muse" confronts someone who doesn't value her at all. She even questions the purpose of life in "Darwinism", a somber ballad inspired by David Bowie.

She also continues to define herself as an alternative artist, despite pop being primary in her records. It's something she's debated since the beginning of her career.

Tracks such as "Dog Years" (PJ Harvey), "Arsonist" (Fiona Apple) and "Ego" (Dolores O'Riordan) reveal periods of exhaustion from dark circumstances. These anger-filled songs amount to the project's most honest accounts.

Another outlook is provided in "The End" (Joni Mitchell), which discloses everything that's been happening behind the scenes. Coming off years of frustrating conditions and diagnoses, Halsey opens up. She sings, "We could sail on broken driftwood through the sopping wet terrain / And count the buildings and the bodies getting swallowed by the rain." 

Additionally, she tackles death. It's felt heavily in the track "Life of the Spider (Draft)," an ode to Tori Amos, reliving those feelings in a tear-jerking narrative. It's clear that mortality has been weighing on her, especially through Instagram videos capturing her medical treatments. Living this kind of life is really tiring. For anyone able to relate to her situation, they feel the pain, too.

Overall, this album is Halsey's strongest effort in her discography. Her albums always stood out from each other, opening up differing sounds and perspectives. Even if listeners haven't checked out her previous output, this release makes a compelling case for them to explore her discography.

Using life experience as a catalyst for the project is nothing new in music — personal accounts and ballads are common. But, writing specifically about her physical health is awe-inspiring. Being able to create something completely relatable is endearing.

Despite the title and allusions to other works, in essence, "The Great Impersonator" is Halsey's medium for being her raw self.


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