Screeching, distorted guitar sound. Autotune-pitched vocals. Basic, vulgar lyrics.
These elements that 20-year-old artist Lil Huddy infuses into his pop-punk debut album, “Teenage Heartbreak,” could turn off regular listeners of highly mainstream pop or hip hop music but will most definitely satisfy audiences who are fans of this genre.
An energetic electric guitar introduction and a youthful voice yelling, “One, two, three, four,” starts off the first track, “Teenage Heartbreak,” by captivating listeners with a passionate love story. Expressing his genuine remorse over the girl who has left him by singing, “Hurts so much to be awake / That’s teenage heartbreak,” his honest lyrics make his song all the more relatable and heartbreaking.
After a rather upbeat opening tune, the artist almost transitions from anger to grief through a calm second track titled, “America’s Sweetheart.” As if reflecting on his relationship in a more rational state, lyrics like “Every conversation feels so fake / Everything I touch always seems to break” convey his insecurities and betrayal in love. If his previous track makes him seem like a juvenile, rebellious artist, this track shows his more mature and serious side as he talks about the shallowness of relationships.
His next two tracks, “IDC” and “Partycrasher,” reveals Huddy’s efforts to recover from the break up and forget about the girl. Containing lyrics such as “I don’t care ‘bout anything” and “I’m not sorry that I crashed your party” respectively, the tracks show the artist slowly moving on from the heartbreak through the uplifting melody and head-bopping instrumentals.
One of the best songs is the tenth and title track “21st Century Vampire” is a beautifully written song in which the young artist finally reveals his true intentions for the mysterious lover; he confesses that he wants her back. If the autotune and guitar sound from before seemed a bit too overused, this song perfectly combines the two elements and makes it into a great night walk music to add into playlists.
Huddy’s genuine lyrics and effective storytelling show his potential as a great artist, but the overly dark atmosphere of “Teenage Heartbreak” makes this album not the best music to tune in for the summer.
