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Oh, this song used to wreck baby Lyric. It's still kind of affecting 7 years later, in its feelings towards anxiety and the slow faltering of relationships, something that EDEN was just always good at from here onwards. The snare here is a couple different sounds layered together, including shattered glass, which was insane to my little baby music mind. I didn't know you could do that! It was so damn cool. It's a really slow song built around a sample from The Emperor's New Clothes, but give it time to build and it will pay in spades.
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Filed under: emotional songs about personal struggles and high-key poor mental health.
I just want to talk about this song, cause I feel like with it being a Japanese release/anime OST and the release roll out being around the same time as the AMAs Bye Bye Bye/Chk Chk Boom performance, Falling Up (and NIGHT) has been a bit overlooked.
Tower of God the anime? Itās just alright. Nothing to write home about. But Stray Kids, especially HAN, have produced some of their best work doing the OP/ED for season 1. So much so that I wasnāt sure this seasonās OP/ED could be as good as TOP and SLUMP. SLUMP, especially. That one was truly special. Itās 2024 and I still watch SLUMPās The First Take video.
Honestly, Iām not sure yet which between Falling Up and SLUMP I consider the better song. But Falling Up did give me the same feeling and put me in the same headspace emotionally as SLUMP. It successfully captured the feeling of not doing so hot but pushing through it anyway.
I can see and appreciate the character development from SLUMP, wherein itās all about being afraid of getting left behind, whereas Falling Up is about choosing your own path and going forward regardless. Just keep walking and taking the next step. It reminded me of that one The Stormlight Archive quote -- the most important step a man can take. Itās not the first oneā¦Itās the next one.
Also helps that the opening rift is very reminiscent of old emo and alt/rock songs. Stray Kids have a way of inhabiting that soundscape when not doing EDM or even pure pop, and thank God for that.
I just want to talk about this song, cause I feel like with it being a Japanese release/anime OST and the release roll out being around the same time as the AMAs Bye Bye Bye/Chk Chk Boom performance, Falling Up (and NIGHT) has been a bit overlooked.
Tower of God the anime? Itās just alright. Nothing to write home about. But Stray Kids, especially HAN, have produced some of their best work doing the OP/ED for season 1. So much so that I wasnāt sure this seasonās OP/ED could be as good as TOP and SLUMP. SLUMP, especially. That one was truly special. Itās 2024 and I still watch SLUMPās The First Take video.
Honestly, Iām not sure yet which between Falling Up and SLUMP I consider the better song. But Falling Up did give me the same feeling and put me in the same headspace emotionally as SLUMP. It successfully captured the feeling of not doing so hot but pushing through it anyway.
I can see and appreciate the character development from SLUMP, wherein itās all about being afraid of getting left behind, whereas Falling Up is about choosing your own path and going forward regardless. Just keep walking and taking the next step. It reminded me of that one The Stormlight Archive quote -- the most important step a man can take. Itās not the first oneā¦Itās the next one.
Also helps that the opening rift is very reminiscent of old emo and alt/rock songs. Stray Kids have a way of inhabiting that soundscape when not doing EDM or even pure pop, and thank God for that.
Oct 8, 2024
Rec
Itās such an uncompromising song, it tackles grief and the processing of it in a vulnerable but ultimately human way. The production (credit to Benjamin Booker & Kenny Segal) is unsettling but warm, like you know that it can only get better but you have to just sit and deal with the discomfort of your current situation in order to get there.
Thereās a delicate piano melody that fades in and out of the mix alongside the faint hum of a guitar making what is in concept a experimental rap song into something different, the ārappingā is more like spoken word poetry. Benjamin Bookers intro despite being repetitive due to his relaying of āI was only a dove, only in loveā is made so powerful due to how worn out and whispery his voice is, like itās a memory of a loved one haunting you.
Which in turn fades into billy woodsā verse which reads more like poetry than a rap verse. Some of my favourite lines being: āThey called like "Come now, he doesn't have long to live", I dress slowly, Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold himā or āLocked doors never had a key but you test the handle occasionally, God forbid it swing openā āAttic stairs broken, don't go up there, From the windows i watch the diggers disappear in soft wet earth, Dinner served, i waited for my guests, long table set.ā Itās so bleak but perfectly describes the little moments of discomfort you feel when losing someone and I think it works perfectly combined with how minimalistic the production is.
The closing segment from ELUCID is a lot grander in scale and thematically darker, the production starts to get corrupted with static crackles slowly consuming each layer of the instrumental whilst ELUCID foretells the impending end. Itās a sucker punch that catches you out but it works due to how the song is structured all the emotions caused by loss are only told about up until this point and ELUCIDs part represents the listener tackling them head-on. Itās uncomfortable and youāll probably skip it on relisten (hell I often do) but I think itās purpose is so powerful and as a whole the song is incredibly thought provoking.
Thereās a delicate piano melody that fades in and out of the mix alongside the faint hum of a guitar making what is in concept a experimental rap song into something different, the ārappingā is more like spoken word poetry. Benjamin Bookers intro despite being repetitive due to his relaying of āI was only a dove, only in loveā is made so powerful due to how worn out and whispery his voice is, like itās a memory of a loved one haunting you.
Which in turn fades into billy woodsā verse which reads more like poetry than a rap verse. Some of my favourite lines being: āThey called like "Come now, he doesn't have long to live", I dress slowly, Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold himā or āLocked doors never had a key but you test the handle occasionally, God forbid it swing openā āAttic stairs broken, don't go up there, From the windows i watch the diggers disappear in soft wet earth, Dinner served, i waited for my guests, long table set.ā Itās so bleak but perfectly describes the little moments of discomfort you feel when losing someone and I think it works perfectly combined with how minimalistic the production is.
The closing segment from ELUCID is a lot grander in scale and thematically darker, the production starts to get corrupted with static crackles slowly consuming each layer of the instrumental whilst ELUCID foretells the impending end. Itās a sucker punch that catches you out but it works due to how the song is structured all the emotions caused by loss are only told about up until this point and ELUCIDs part represents the listener tackling them head-on. Itās uncomfortable and youāll probably skip it on relisten (hell I often do) but I think itās purpose is so powerful and as a whole the song is incredibly thought provoking.
Apr 13, 2025
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I love how vulnerable the song is. I love this band and all their songs are kinda sad but incredibly beautiful and full of raw emotion. Iāve been listening to them since I was a teenager and somehow theyāve always managed to tell my life story back to me.
Jul 16, 2024
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Callie Nixon's debut album as flatroom is all it's cracked up to be and more. Not just content to be behind the boards as a talented producer with roots in the fledgling Dariacore scene, she's also an immensely affecting composer and singer-songwriter with influences from noughties-era country and folk. On I Don't Even Need, these two influences combine like headstrong bucks, relaxed and warm acoustic guitar-driven folk giving way to a rushing, soaring burst of happy hardcore arpeggios and energy. It's hands down the best song on the album, and it's really fighting for that spot between the album version of Blood sugar and the cover of When the Stars Go Blue.
Jun 22, 2025
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From English math rock band Delta Sleep's 2018 full-length Ghost City comes a hell of an opening track, Sultans of Ping. The build-up is insane; emotionally evocative to a perfect T, a simple lyrical structure that keeps you hooked for its memorability, and the way its build seems to skitter off, filling in the extra details slowly and erratically like an oscilloscope drawing before blasting off. Devin YĆ¼ceil's voice is at a sweet low point that feels like an anchor in the ocean as it gets slowly buried under the layers of multi-tracking and instruments. It's worth every minute you give it, and sitting at just under five? That would be considered a steal if time was money.
Jun 24, 2025
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Getting a lot more into Spanish-language music as of recentāfrom Spain, France, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, and in the case of Esteman, Colombia. This piece, the second off his 2021 album Si Volviera A Nacer, features some beautiful vocals from Mexico's Daniela Spalla, and a melody that is eerily reminiscent (to me, anyway) of Centuries by Fall Out Boy. A very nocturnal song that I've been using as a soundtrack to my nightly drive home from work this past month.
Jun 21, 2025