Music

Album of the Week

Album of the Week: LAUV – ~How I’m Feeling~

Inside the highly anticipated 21-track debut release from the American singer-songwriter.

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With collaborations from Anne-Marie, Alessia Cara, LANY, BTS, Troye Sivan and Sophia Reyes, the huge debut from Lauv is an instant pop classic.

The follow-up to the 2018 compilation album, I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist), ~How I’m Feeling~ offers a stark depiction of depression, loneliness and love in the modern age, flipping between slow-burning pop balladry and brighter, upbeat numbers.

Lauv is arguably best when he’s at his most vulnerable, with album closer Modem Loneliness offering a bleak and beautiful take on friendship in 2020 – a piano ballad for the present-day, a millennial masterpiece about feeling alone despite being surrounded by pals.

The American singer reflects on all the facets of one’s personality, with two additional tracks directly referencing being lonely in their title, and much of his inspiration based around personal anecdotes, his love-life and the 25-year old’s battle with depression.

Lauv - Modern Loneliness [Official Visualizer]

On the other side, Tattoos Together, is buoyant and upbeat. Lauv sings about getting inked with a significant other so they don’t forget each other in the future.

Latin tinged El Tejano, which translates to The Texan, features Mexican singer Sofia Reyes and explores finding one’s place in a new city.

In Sad Forever, Lauv faces up to his anxiety and debates medication, written during a time when he felt particularly low. Lauv later announced on socials that all proceeds from the song would be donated to mental health organisations.

Mean It, a long-awaited collaboration with LANY, returns the focus to unrequited feelings, while F*** I’m Lonely – featured on the soundtrack of 13 Reasons Why (Season 3) – finds inspiration in unanswered calls to a sandwich shop.

Pop ballad Who features K-pop icons BTS in their first full-English language collaboration, proving both emotive and effortless.

~How I’m Feeling~ embraces what it is to be human in 2020, tackling issues with raw lyricism, relatable pop ballads and upbeat dancefloor-ready bangers.

Lauv returns to the UK for four dates in November 2020. [Find Tickets]


Tracklisting:

1. Drugs & the Internet
2. F***, I’m Lonely (featuring Anne-Marie)
3. Lonely Eyes
4. Sims
5. Believed
6. Billy
7. Feelings
8. Canada (featuring Alessia Cara)
9. For Now
10. Mean It (with LANY)
11. Tell My Mama
12. Sweatpants
13. Who (featuring BTS)
14. I’m So Tired… (with Troye Sivan)
15. El Tejano (featuring Sofia Reyes)
16. Tattoos Together
17. Changes
18. Sad Forever
19. Invisible Things
20. Julia
21. Modern Loneliness


Listen to How I’m Feeling on Spotify: