HALSEY SOLIDIFIES ROCKSTAR STATUS WITH 'IF I CAN'T HAVE LOVE I WANT POWER'

On June 28, 2021 a billboard appeared over Los Angeles with the words “If I can’t have love, I want power: the fourth album by Halsey produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross”. That was the only information we were given until they did a cover reveal at the Met. This album and the corresponding IMAX movie that Halsey created pushes her over the edge from just pop star to bonafide rock star. Not only is this album a stark contrast from the sugary sweet, introspective record, Manic, that they released last year it also is an outlooking record about the horrors and joy of pregnancy and motherhood. 

The album cover very much reflects the theme of the album, with Halsey (real name Ashley Frangipane) on a throne with a child and a breast exposed. They said the album represents the Madonna and whore complex and the album cover displays as such with the regal outfit and the baby (Halsey also had a baby in July with their partner Alev Aydin).

This album is unlike anything they’ve ever released and is their best work to date. There were no singles, just the theatrical trailers with snippets of songs for the IMAX movie of the same name. The album was produced by Nine Inch Nails and sounds very much so from the first notes of it, with the fuzzy piano intro of “The Tradition”. I’ve been a Halsey fan since their first record, Badlands, and essentially have grown up with her music every step of the way. This album sucks you in immediately like every other album of theirs, but somehow this one in a much different way. 

The opening track opens with a piano and Halsey letting words unfurl about, “the loneliest girl in town”, but then the heavier music kicks in for the chorus and my favorite lines,

“Take what you want, take what you can, take what you please don’t give a damn/ask for forgiveness never permission”

This song is such a strong start to the album, and it only goes up from there. 

The second song, “Bells in Santa Fe”, is a psychedelic Gothic fairytale with sounds like wisps of wind, icy pianos, and a churning undercurrent while Halsey sings about loneliness, crowns and Judas.

“Jesus needed a three-day weekend/To sort out all his bullshit”

It mostly ends in a sense of doom. They can croon over the chaos,

“Don’t wait for me, it’s not a happy ending”

The reference to little bird in this song is reference to their partner, Alev, according to a Q&A on Twitter. This song piqued my interest the most, because although Halsey can do a lot with their voice and with the different music they make (see every other record), I picture this song live, and I'm just so excited to scream the words in a crowd someday. This song was also in the IMAX movie. 

The influence of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross can be felt on every song on this album, but there are no vocal guests, just Halsey walking the line between self-destruction and self-discovery. Dave Grohl (of the Foo Fighters) is, however, featured on the record behind the drum kit on the frenetic, urgent sounding “Honey”. Also playing an instrument on a song is Lindsey Buckingham (formerly of Fleetwood Mac). 

Another frantic, urgent song is “Easier than Lying”, which has a line that is the opposite of a lyric from “Lie” from their second record, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. The HFK lyric, “If you don’t love me then lie”, evolved into Halsey two records later saying,

“Losing you is easier than lying to myself that you love me”

That, my friends, is called development. This song also sounds like the song Halsey wrote for the Birds of Prey soundtrack, “Experiment on Me”.

The quickness in the lyrics of “Girl is A Gun” reminds me of “Don’t Play” from HFK and some of “929” from their previous studio record, Manic. I interpret this line of

“this measuring cup is overflowing with the same damn problems”

as after you get out of a relationship, the same insecurities and issues you have with your choice of partners keep coming back up. 

Both “Darling” and “1121” are the slow spots on the record, which isn’t to say that they are bad, they are just literally much slower than the songs around them. They're both magical and fit the industrial vibe going on with the record. “Darling” features Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, but instrumentation only. Halsey revealed on the album release Instagram live that “1121” was the date she found out they were pregnant. 

Since the 2015 debut record, Halsey has always been openly bisexual and is not afraid to use she pronouns in songs. “Honey” is one of those songs. It’s fast paced, and feels like it’s running out of time. To me this song feels like a relationship that is fun but might be on the verge of ending with lyrics like,

“...but all I can taste is the blood in my mouth and the bitterness in goodbye”

The next song, “Whispers” is a battle with your inner monologue, saying you don’t need to be happy because you sabotage “the things [I] love the most”. The voice in your head is also telling you that as a screwed up human, you don’t deserve love in the first place. Halsey always has a way, even through a very theatrical release, of saying exactly what we need at the right time. I’ve heard that voice they mention in this song in my head before and can relate. 

The album had no singles before it got released, however the next song “I’m Not A Woman, I’m A God”, is now being pushed as a single. This song is also my favorite song on the record because it just radiates bad bitch energy, whether they meant to do that or not. The live show is such an integral part of who Halsey is as a performer, and I’m imagining this song will also translate incredibly live. This song is also meant to be blasted with your windows down, screaming the lyrics. 

“The Lighthouse” is based on a poem Halsey wrote by the same name in a book they came out with earlier this year titled, I Would Leave Me If I Could. This song also has some of the most noticeably fuzzy guitars and Nine Inch Nails influence, although it’s felt all over the record. 

The last track, “Ya’aburnee”, which means “you bury me” in Arabic, is dedicated to their family. The phrase means you hope to die before your lover because you couldn’t imagine life without them. It’s also overall a gorgeous song and a great closer.