Olivia O’Brien.
Olivia O’Brien, a singer-songwriter known for her feature on Gnash’s song “I hate u, I love u” released her first full-length album “Was It Even Real” today, April 26.
The album is only 10 tracks long, but from start to finish it tells a story. It takes listeners on O’Brien’s breakup journey.
In the opening track, “Purpleworld,” she talks about the meaning behind the color purple for her. The color reminded O’Brien of her ex but now she says it has a larger meaning and embodies possibility in what she can do. O’Brien shows her love for the color purple with her electric purple hair.
Her singles “I don’t exist,” “UDK,” “Love Myself,” “Just Friends,” “Just a Boy” and “Care Less More,” take up approximately half the album. These songs are energizing and catchy, aside from “Just Friends,” which is more of an acoustic, emotional song.
The new songs on the album include “Purpleworld,” “Inhibition (omw),” “We Lied To Each other” and “Call Me.”
“We Lied To Each Other” is a powerful song about growing apart in a relationship that ultimately ended. The lyrics paired with O’Brien’s soft but poignant vocals paint the picture of the emotion and pain she has been through.
The sequence of songs seems to follow the timeline of getting through a breakup. The album starts with a song called “I Don’t Exist” which is about not fitting in and ends with a song called “Love Myself,” which is self-explanatory. Breakups progress in this way, especially when you’re getting over them.
The album has a fusion between pop music and R&B, which is a sound that is unique to O’Brien. The beat in many of the songs uses heavy bass and utilizes fast spoken word portions. The songs on the album also utilize heavy guitar, bass and drums.
O’Brien takes listeners on her breakup journey, which is one that many can relate to.
“Gave you my time, you fed me lies/ Was it even real?/ Messed with my mind, should’ve read the signs/Tell you how I feel,” O’Brien sings.
Rating: 4/5
Madison Appleby is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at madison.appleby@uconn.edu . She tweets at @madd_journalist
