Ashley Frangipane, known by her stage name Halsey, is a 20-year-old New Jersey native who cultivated a dedicated following with just one EP to her name. A year later in 2015, Halsey dropped her debut album Badlands.
Badlands brings a catchy pop vibe with her sound, falling somewhere between where Lorde meets Taylor Swift. Halsey’s lyrics are edgy, with songs like “New Americana,” which empowers messages of smoking legal marijuana in a new age, and “Ghost,” which brings an enticing, sexual experience to the listener as Halsey explores her own sexuality through her music.
Halsey’s debut album walks the listener through stories of growing up in America as a young, biracial, bisexual, and bipolar artist.
In writing Badlands, Halsey wanted to emulate a desert-like wasteland and use it as a metaphor for her experiences. Badlands is a place to escape from her battles and to embrace that in her self-created post-apocalyptic wasteland, there is still optimism.
If you’re looking for an escape, letting yourself fall into the world that is Badlands can be a sweet release from everyday battles.
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