By DJ Lemon Tea
On October 25th, Tessa Violet released her sophomore album entitled “Bad Ideas.” The album is a cacophony of upbeat pop songs with relatable lyrics about Violet’s love life and various crushes. Violet has been teasing this album since 2018, when she released the music video for the song “Crush” which has since accumulated over 49 million views on Youtube.
The next single she released off of the album was the titular song “Bad Ideas.”
With lyrics such as, “I hope that you don’t think I’m rude, but I wanna make out with you” and “I wanna touch you but don’t want to be weird,” Violet has created this persona of a helplessly awkward romantic who is experiencing the stages of falling in love.
The album starts off with the song “Prelude” which is a lo-fi acoustic song about Violet beginning her journey of falling in love. The album then transitions into her singles that she had released before this new album came out.
“Crush” is a catchy pop song about Violet developing a crush on a love interest and wanting to be around them all the time. It has all the quirkiness and charm that I have described before in her songwriting.
“Bad Ideas” is sort of ballad with a more sombre undertone about Violet knowing that she shouldn’t be with someone even though she very much wants to be. One of the lines in this song is just the word “yikes” so if that doesn’t sell you on listening to the song I don’t know what else would.
The track “I like (the idea of) you” follows up on the same themes as “Bad Ideas” but is more upbeat with lots of bass and drum melodies and beats. Violet also released this song as a single with a corresponding music video.
“Games” is more of a sad song about being in a relationship that isn’t working and the mental toll that can take on a person. This song marks the overall melancholic turn that the album takes during its second half. It’s a song that is very bass heavy, and even though it’s more gloomy, it still builds to various crescendos during the song.
“Feelin” is an electronic soundscape with acoustic elements. Here Violet sings about how she doesn’t talk about her feelings with a person who presumably broke her heart.
“Words Ain’t Enough” is an acoustic song about a partner who wants to change Violet even though they “say they love” her.
“Bored” is an explosive symphony of sound where Violet sings the anthem of feeling the monotony of life accompanied by her many “thoughts inside [her] head.”
“Wishful Drinking” is pop-like with hip hop elements and asymmetric sounds that appear at various points during the song. The lyrics take a darker turn as she talks about drinking and how she uses it to stop thinking.
“Honest” is filled to the brim with hip hop and electronica and randomly cut off sections of the song to create the same sense of unease that Violet sings about in her lyrics.
“Interlude III” is a lo-fi acoustic song with sad undertones as it is about Violet being alone with no one by her side.
Overall, this album is some of Violet’s greatest work. Her songs are raw and honest about her experiences of being in love and her feelings about herself. Her awkward lyrics are part of her charm and make her songs feel more authentic. Violet appears to be going places in the world of music and this album will definitely be a part of it. If you like honest, awkward, pop-full love songs, give this album a listen.