Review: “LOST IN HEAVEN” stays true to Chase Atlantic’s successful formula
Best track: “AMY”, “DISCONNECTED”
Score: 3.5/5 stars
Students could have kept their Halloween night spooky with the midnight release of Australian alt-pop band Chase Atlantic’s fourth album “LOST IN HEAVEN”, heavy with dark, pulsating melodies overlaying darker themes. Tackling vulnerable subjects such as drug abuse and mental health with catchy grooves is a much-repeated Chase Atlantic move, but “LOST IN HEAVEN” does it well.
“FAVELA” is a bold and braggadocious opening track, if one doesn’t think too hard about the ethics of proclaiming the band’s love of Brazil in a track named after impoverished Brazilian neighborhoods. “DIE FOR ME” keeps the energy high, with sensual trap beats and a hard-hitting opening verse reminiscent of previous hits such as “DEVILISH”.
“YOU” marks the album’s shift into slower, more introspective tracks. Lyrically, the chorus is understated — “I wrote this song for you/I bought these drugs for you … I wrote this song for you/Put down the drugs for you” — but the repetition works thematically to emphasize feeling “stuck in a loop.” The singer’s lover is at the core of the song, sparking his addiction and encouraging him to get clean by turns. Of all the tracks, “YOU” leaves the most space for nuance, illuminating a relationship as addictive as any drug.
After the groovy but forgettable “DEMON TIME”, the “NIGHT CALLS” interlude is notable for being guitarist and vocalist Christian Anthony’s first solo song. The track’s production, opening with an iMessage notification tone, is creative and haunting. Imagery like “I could see all the scars in her heart through the drywalls” is clumsy, but sonically it is a fine listen.
“DISCONNECTED” is the best track off the album, with the refreshing candor of “can't feel my body, nor do I respect it” over atmospheric instrumentals. The entire track feels like a climax, with a vulnerable pre-chorus building to the chorus sung in a plaintive tenor. A beat of silence seems to signal the end of the track, until a final chorus comes back in a triumphant encore. “HOURS LOST” attempts to follow, but after two-thirds of the album, the production doesn’t stand out. That’s a shame, since “almost took my life in the shower / I was lost, abusing that money, sex and power” are the most hard-hitting lyrics in the entire album.
Songwriter Xavier Mayne returns for his second feature on a Chase Atlantic track with “MESS ME UP”. Another interlude, it revolves around the same mental health themes as the rest of the album but lacks the poignant lyricism of standout tracks on this topic. There is a fun allusion to the sophomore album track “ANGELS” — “the angels call, they call me often” — but it is muddied by “DISCONNECTED”’s earlier reference to “no angels calling”, which makes them feel shoehorned in rather than a clever easter egg for longtime fans.
The best storytelling of the album comes in “AMY”, the only track on the album where the narrator examines someone else’s psyche rather than his own. Descriptions of the titular Amy’s neglectful childhood is sobering, and it’s refreshing to meet a new character. Though “CASSIE” from their debut album also discusses a girl struggling with addiction, “AMY” gives that girl more compassion and commits to decentering the narrator, not mentioning him until the outro.
“DOUBT IT” is the last single off the album, with a catchy pre-chorus referencing and borrowing lyrics from no less than five previous songs. After four albums and midway through the band’s third international tour, this homage feels well-deserved. Unfortunately, the album runs out of steam after. “MAMACITA” is sonically confused — too low-key to get the crowd jumping, but too upbeat to be easy listening, with tropical-inspired beats that feel out of place on the album. “DON’T LAUGH” closes the album out, and is forgettable other than repeating the song title an impressive eight times in the chorus.
“LOST IN HEAVEN” fits well into Chase Atlantic’s existing discography, with a well-balanced mix of upbeat crowd-pleasers and soulful introspection. Neither of those are innovative for the band, but since they’ve found a formula for success, it’s fair to stick to it.
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