I’ve been following Halsey’s musical career since I was in high school and they released their first EP, “Room 93.” Their first studio album “Badlands” was one of the very first vinyl records I bought for myself, and when they released their third studio album “Manic” I even bought concert tickets to see them perform it live. When they announced their fourth studio album in early July, I was ecstatic to say the least.
It would be a crime to simply discuss the individual songs and not the album conception and fruition as a whole, because it truly is a work of art. “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” was produced alongside Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Atticus Ross, both of whom are award winning songwriters and producers.
The weeks leading up to the album’s release were filled with theatrical promotional images and videos. Halsey unveiled the album artwork, which is a portrait of Halsey on a grandiose throne of gold holding a baby in their lap with their breast exposed, in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was reminiscent of art created during the Romanticism movement, specifically artistic depictions of the virgin Mary and her baby Jesus.
The night before the album’s release, a film under the same name was produced by filmmaker Colin Tilley and screened in select IMAX theaters. The film was made in collaboration with the album and drew in elements from fantasy and horror genres to visualize the deeper meaning to some of the album’s songs.
Finally, after months of anticipating a fantastical and mystical piece of work from the musician, “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” released worldwide on Aug. 27. The album contains thirteen tracks with no features, making Halsey the sole performer on the album. According to Halsey, the album is a concept album on “the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth.” The album was just announced only weeks before the birth of Halsey’s first child.
The album as a whole draws musical influences in grunge, punk rock and pop punk. It focuses heavily on feminist themes and the effects that the patriarchy has on women. The thing that I’ve always admired most about Halsey’s music is that it truly feels like art, like you’re listening to a painting. This album is no different; every song is perfectly composed, full of just the right amount of anger and delicacy to feel just like an eighteenth century Romanticism painting.
The album’s first track, “The Tradition” is a strong and heavy start to the album. The song depicts the story of a girl who is dolled up and sold to the highest bidder, but always returned due to her sour attitude. A deeper interpretation of the song is a woman being robbed emotionally over the course of many psychologically draining and unfulfilling relationships, historically due to the patriarchy valuing the emotional needs of female partners in relationships less than the male’s. This is reflected in the chorus, “Take what you want / Take what you can / Take what you please, don’t give a damn / It’s in the blood and this is tradition.”
There are so many great songs on this album, but my favorite song is “The Lighthouse,” which is a punk anthem full of female rage. It’s a siren’s song of revenge against men who had made the mistake of messing with them. It’s got an amazing and sinister beat to it, with loud electric guitar riffs and drums that creep up on you.
The final song on the album is titled “Ya’aburnee” which is a rough translation of the Arabic phrase “bury me.” The song is a love song to both Halsey’s newborn son and their partner, expressing Halsey’s adoration for them and how difficult it would be to live without them or have to bury them first.
Halsey’s newest album “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” is truly a work of great art in all of its forms. It’s an album that is brutally aware of the institutional biases that society holds against women as individuals, female sexuality and childbirth. I would highly recommend giving it a listen.
