Squee by Squee

Review written by AlbumBum

Squee by Squee is a harsh midwest album that will wrench your heart before dropping it. Filled with distortions, it paints a wobbly picture of the feelings you’re not sure you’ve felt yet. It’s as foreboding as it is comforting you, like saying it’s sorry for the loss you’re about to have. If you like the ambience and soul of Alex G, but want something more intense and grungy, this is the band and album for you.

“Online” is like novocaine for your brain. It gets numb and hard to think. But suddenly, you’re remembering the things you’ve lost – but the thoughts are slow moving. It’s like when the dentist tells you that you’ll only feel a bit of pressure, but it still hurts. Eventually it speeds up and you can feel your heart beating again, slightly off time with the drums. This is probably my favorite song off the album, and it feels like the best representation of it overall.

I started crying during “Love.” I couldn’t make out the lyrics during my first listen but once I looked them up it made sense. “So young and dumb and in love” is repeated 12 times. This whole album is for some reason resurfacing the grief of my childhood best friend; it feels like an auditory embodiment of the amalgamation of everything that experience meant to me. This whole album is an expression of otherwise indescribable pain. The only song that has made me feel the exact same way was “Empty Bags by Ol’ Sport.” It is also extremely midwest but much more tame and clean. Biggest similarity is that it has that pitchy harmony that most bands can’t seem to use the same way. That sound is what pulls this all together to pull me apart.

If you have something you can’t quite get out, listen to Squee. If you need something loud to muffle everything else, listen to Squee. If you hear what a hardcore version of midwest emo is, listen to Squee. If you want to feel jovial, don’t listen to Squee.