A catchy but sad album

The Vancouver pop duo Hunting released their third studio album in November, titled You’ve Got Love (But It Even Tears You Apart). It’s a ten-song collection that is a retro pop, rock and punk vibe. They use a lot of synths and electric guitars. Their melodies are catchy and pull the listener in, but the lyrics are almost always quite sad and sure to bring the listener into their feelings. 

The first track, “Hurting You, Hurts Me,” is an upbeat retro pop song. With arpeggiating synths and rhythmic bass, it is a catchy tune. Despite its upbeat track, it is somewhat sad. They have a melancholic tone in their voice, and they sing about hurting someone that they love and the pain that comes along with it. The song is relaxing but not uplifting. 

The third track, “Piano Fire,” takes on a more rock sound. It has many distorted layered guitars and loud percussion. Once again, the song is not uplifting, but it is a fun relaxing listen. They sing about getting hurt and have some dark imagery. It is unclear what the song is about, but they seem to be asking the listener how they feel. 

The most popular track, “Cat Eyes,” has accumulated a couple of thousand streams. It has a high-energy rhythmic rock sound with distorted electric guitars and vocals following the lead of the descending guitar chords. They sing about feeling like they are not liked. It is once again an upbeat yet sad song. 

The seventh track, “This Year,” is a more mellow song. It is mostly synths, light percussion and drums. As well as having a more relaxing sound, the message is a bit more uplifting. They sing about their life not being that bad after all. They use imagery that displays different moments of their year, and the accompaniment is calming with simple steady strums and repetitive melodies. 

The final track, “Broken,” ends the album on a melancholic note. They sing about broken dreams, and they blame themselves for all the wrongs in their life. It is a reflective yet tragic song that is sure to get the listener feeling down. Accompanying their crying voice is a slow percussion and lagging guitars, which adds to the tragic sound. 

Overall, Hunting’s newest album, You’ve Got Love (But It Even Tears You Apart), is filled with a mix of pop, punk and retro sounds that are accompanied by meditative, melancholic lyricism.