Indie album tells heartbreak tale

Sloppy Heads’ second album Sometimes Just One Second uses largely indie to relay the story of a recent separation from a former loved one. Throughout the piece, Sloppy Heads stays true to their indie-folk background, employing slower rhythms and a heavy reliance on vocals to create a story-like atmosphere for the album. Songs such as “Possession” and “Try Again” in the first half of the album properly showcase the Brooklyn based band’s traditional indie capabilities.

Though Sometimes Just One Second undoubtedly sticks to the indie style of Sloppy Heads, it dabbles in elements of other genres as well to underscore the album’s theme– the complicated emotions that accompany a breakup or other loss of someone special. The band primarily experiments with rock to highlight the complications that arise in a separation. In songs including “Between Pitches (Vibrator),” “Shannon’s Song” and the band’s cover of the Grateful Dead piece “New Speedway Boogie,” the frustration felt in the aftermath of losing a partner is experienced through the faster-paced nature of the pieces. Sometimes Just One Second also incorporates elements of pop in catchy pieces including “Love Is A Disease” and “Serf City” which help embody the repetitive, often cyclical nature of moving on.

Sometimes Just One Second further employs some longer songs which showcase the band’s musical abilities. In 10 minute-long “Still Right Now” and the album’s ultimate song, “Baby Becoming,” the latter half of the song is nearly entirely composed of instrumentals. While the band’s ability to write longer pieces is evident, these specific songs on Sometimes Just One Second often felt repetitive and unnecessary, not particularly benefitting the album or enhancing its theme in any way. These songs seemingly add length without substance to the album. 

Though Sloppy Heads incorporates a variety of styles and song lengths, their lyricism clearly alludes to a theme of heartbreak and the difficulty in letting go. While the band evidently communicates their theme in the album, at times the lyricism felt slightly blunt and lacking in nuance. In “Baby Becoming” and “How Long is Forever?” the lyricism felt scattered and uncomplicated which affected the presentation of the theme, sometimes hindering the potential impact of the message.

Sloppy Heads’ second album Sometimes Just One Second sticks to its indie roots while incorporating a variety of genres to allude to its narrative. Though the band makes the theme of Sometimes Just One Second evident, its use of overly long songs and lack of nuance in its lyricism reduce the quality of their message.