Review by Ava Wiseley<\/p>\n
How are our memories affected when we share them as stories? What happens to us when we think about the past too often?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These are questions that Eliza McLamb addresses on her new album, \u201cGood Story,\u201d released Oct. 24.<\/span><\/p>\n McLamb, who is also a popular Substack writer and a co-host of the podcast \u201cBinchtopia,\u201d has been making music since 2020, when one of her songs went viral on TikTok. She went on to release a handful of singles, an EP titled \u201cSalt Circle\u201d and her first record, \u201cGoing Through It.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGood Story\u201d is the songwriter\u2019s sophomore album, and like her previous projects, its lyrics are introspective. She writes primarily about how her past shapes her art, and how that process influences her perception of the past.<\/span><\/p>\n The theme is introduced with the opening track, \u201cBetter Song.\u201d McLamb sings, \u201cI have trouble with memories, making them up and forgetting things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBetter Song\u201d is a slow-burn rocker \u2014 a banjo ticks along in the beginning, and electric guitars explode at the end. It sets the sonic mood for the album, which can be described as a mixture of two of her contemporaries: Soccer Mommy and Leith Ross.<\/span><\/p>\n On the title track, McLamb elaborates on the idea that the stories from her past are malleable. She sings, \u201cI made it out and so I make it up; a self serving poet, and it isn\u2019t enough.\u201d She also considers how others perceive her: \u201cIf I find out that you don’t like it, I can write it different. It’s so easy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She speaks to those of us who have thoughts like, \u201cWas I really happy during that time, or am I wearing rose-colored glasses? Is my memory still what happened, or has it morphed into something else as I\u2019ve shared it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The title track also has one of the sonic sweet spots of the album: a pleasant instrumental outro with an acoustic and electric guitar sharing the melody.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTalisman,\u201d one of the quieter tunes, continues to develop the album\u2019s overarching theme. McLamb writes that she tells stories about her past as a way of avoiding confronting her future. Over gentle fingerpicking, she sings, \u201cThe future\u2019s always blurry; going back in time; I see everything fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n McLamb is even more stuck in the past on \u201cWater Inside the Fence.\u201d She sings, \u201cI know the present is all I have and yet still, I walk it back; just another lap around the water inside the fence.\u201d The song crescendos to an eerie outro, where she repeats the lyric \u201cjust another lap\u201d eight times. It\u2019s reminiscent of how it feels to be unable to stop looking at old photos.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to exploring how memories inspire what she creates, McLamb reflects on the act of that creation itself.<\/span><\/p>\n On the humorously self-pitying \u201cSuffering,\u201d she worries that she\u2019ll only feel inspired when she\u2019s unhappy: \u201cMy better days only terrify me; what do they mean? On\u0435 day I might have nothing left to write.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMausoleum\u201d also touches on the creation of art and the world she builds out of her stories. This track is sonically interesting \u2014 it almost seems like it was recorded while her bandmates were still figuring out their parts.<\/span><\/p>\n Two other highlights of the album are \u201cLike the Boys\u201d and \u201cEvery Year.\u201d While they stray from the topics that have previously been addressed, they are lyrically interesting. It\u2019s their sound that makes the tracks stand out, however \u2014 both are true indie-rock tunes, with crunchy guitars and a driving beat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While most of the album centers around the past in some way, its closer, \u201cGetting Free,\u201d sees her looking towards the future. \u201cI’m starting over and over again. I find a bright light and I chase it,\u201d she sings. The track ends the album on a more positive note, and production-wise, an electric one.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGood Story\u201d is unlikely to become a standout album in the indie music sphere. Its melodies and production, while enjoyable, tend to be generic. But it\u2019s clear that McLamb\u2019s focus is on her lyrics, and in that department, she excels.<\/span><\/p>\n The record is incredibly cohesive thematically. Many songs share the same message, but they don\u2019t feel repetitive. And the theme itself \u2014 of creating, mulling over the past and the relationship between these processes \u2014 feels fresh, unique and ultimately very relatable.<\/span><\/p>\n If you ever find yourself taking too long of a walk down memory lane, give \u201cGood Story\u201d a listen instead.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Review by Ava Wiseley How are our memories affected when we share them as stories? What happens to us when we think about the past too often?\u00a0 These are questions that Eliza McLamb addresses on her new album, \u201cGood Story,\u201d released Oct. 24. McLamb, who is also a popular Substack writer and a co-host of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25371,"featured_media":50978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1524,1523,15],"tags":[2584,2585],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50977"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50977"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50979,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50977\/revisions\/50979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}