Halsey - The Great Impersonator

Much has been made of Halsey and team’s series of photographic transformations in the lead-up to the release of this fourth album - a quite frankly astonishing level of detail went into each image, in which the singer appears as one of their inspirations; a literal take on the title ‘The Great Impersonator’. In reality, few of the artists paired with tracks from the record are obvious partners: the warm bassline of ‘Panic Attack’ does indeed bring to mind the work of Stevie Nicks, ‘Letter To God (1983)’ is indeed very Springsteen, and there’s a discernible hint of PJ Harvey in the low strum of ‘Dog Years’. But, pair ‘Ego’ (“I think that I should try to kill my ego / ‘Cause if I don’t, my ego might kill me”) with the closing title track (“…and then I redesign / And put myself together like some little Frankenstein”) and the record’s premise shifts to ego death as a concept in itself – Halsey’s impersonations aren’t those of their Instagram account, but of Halsey themself. The stylistic turns – which are at times disconcertingly whiplash-inducing in their frequent changes – are attempts at trying on personas or styles to see which one fits, in order to re-find their ego. It’s here the best tracks emerge: ‘Darwinism’ riffs off Pixies’ ‘Where Is My Mind’ with a piano line that introduces a dark, affecting number; there’s a curiously trip-hop tone to the claustrophobic ‘Arsonist’, while ‘I Never Loved You’ is quite possibly the most Jack Antonoff track with zero public traces of the man’s work attached to it. Together, the collection of songs reads like an audible exercise book, Halsey working through a tumultuous time in their personal life via song. It shows they’re an artist decently versed in multiple styles, but in requiring a backstory for the result to not ultimately seem messy – and, be sure, the lyrics do in fact reflect a messy time, so that’s not a word chosen dismissively – the likes of opener ‘Only Living Girl in LA’ and ‘Hurt Feelings’ just sound dated. Overall, the whole doesn’t quite hit as some hefty emotional lyrical turns (‘Arsonist’’s “You built a small container to keep all of me confined / I am water, I am shapeless, I am fluid, I’m divine”) indicate it should.