Being at the very end of an album means the songs often go unnoticed, but arguably, the final tracks are the most important; they are the ones that show us what the album was all about, so next time, pay more attention to the final song!
Lewis Capaldi – ‘Headspace’
Every year we seem to have a huge breakout artist that takes control of the charts, and almost all of their album or songs are consistently up high. 2019 was Lewis Capaldi’s year, with him releasing Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. That album alone left him a huge legacy, but honestly, I think his final track of that album, ‘Headspace’, stood out in a very unique way.
Lewis spoke about the song quite a bit, which I found interesting seeing as many people tend to ignore their final tracks as it never ends up being a single or something fans tend to notice. But he spoke about it because he wanted fans to know that he’d written the song at age 17, and had always planned it to be the final song on his debut album. That made it pretty memorable for me, and that’s without even listening to it!
The song is about feeling unappreciated or lacking in love from a lover, but honestly, it means so much more than that lyrically, it’s a truly universal heartbreak song, and I think it’s placed perfectly at the end. I love that it’s so sensory-rich, you can feel and taste and smell the scenes and emotions he’s expressing.
I think the best line will always be the end “I never thought that a lie could sound so sweet till you opened your mouth and said you loved me” That just encapsulates the meaning of the song and the heart shattering truth of the situation.
I love that this is the end of the album and definitely sets that legacy of the album off strong.
Rhianna Saglani
You can listen to ‘Headspace’ here, via Universal Music Group:
The 1975 – ‘When We Are Together’
Being Funny in a Foreign language was one of the stand out albums of 2022! Matty and the band produced an 11 track extravanganza with songs like ‘About You’ which gained popularity on tiktok due to the added vocals from lead guitarist Adam Hann’s wife, Carly Holt. The band’s fifth studio album has been celebrated for its beauty, profundity, and sometimes clumsy (but cute!) lyrics. Something that has always been present throughout the indie band’s discography is the story telling. Every album has been a containment of narrative, and this time, the message is that love can always save you.
Consequently, the last track of a 1975 album is always very important to the story. It ties everything up, it encapsulates the whole feeling of the album, and it leaves us pondering. ‘When We Are Together’ does this perfectly! Although it offered us the famously confusing lyric ‘You ask about the cows wearing my sweater’, it is a sincere and sentimental retelling of a relationship and all the complexities that come with love.
The song was written by lead singer, Matty Healy, drummer George Daniel, and long time collaborator Rob Milton, which is why the song is just so at home on the album! Sometimes it’s funny with lines like “Central Park is sea world for trees’, sometimes it’s ironic with lyrics like “The day we both got cancelled / Because I’m a racist and you’re some kind of slag”, and most importantly it’s honest; ‘I thought we were fightin’ /But it seems I was gaslightin’ you’.
The whole album tells the story of the vitality of love and how it makes life worth living, especially in the depressing state of the world! ‘When We Are Together’ encompasses the journey of the album, from the highs and the lows, and it is just such a subtly beautiful track.
Amy Scott-Munden
You can listen to ‘When We Are Together’ here, via Dirty Hit:
Phoebe Bridgers – ‘I Know The End’
One of the things I love about Punisher is its story-like, circular structure; listening to the album all the way through in its intended order takes you on a journey climaxing with the dramatic flourish of ‘I Know The End’.
The song is comprised of two sections, starting mellow and reflective, in typical Phoebe fashion: “Romanticize a quiet life / There’s no place like my room”. The subtle strings then play out, replaced with a more fast-paced rhythm and a repetitive melody that both builds and crescendos to the lyric ‘The end is here’. The music turns into a chaotic layering of all instruments in the same tune – but the opposite style – as the first song of the album, ‘DVD Menu’.
The outro of this song feels like moving into a new stage of life and looking out over the horizon of your old life and saying goodbye: “We’re not alone / I’ll find a new place to be from”. The catharsis released from the overlaid, almost hysterical screaming that brings us to the end of the song, and thus the album, rounds both off in a way that certainly feels like an ending. Go and see Phoebe live and end the night screaming your lungs out with her and the band.
Charlie Burgess
You can listen to ‘I Know The End’ here, via Dead Oceans:
