The first thing that you hear is a soft count-up that gets cut off. Indicating that maybe the artist is alone in their room. A chorus-y acoustic guitar, one that feels nostalgic and provocative, fills the void. Followed by a bouncy riff played by a cheap-sounding electric piano. Suddenly, the lively, distorted vocals come in with the drums and bass guitar, painting an emotional picture that's equally captivating as it is longing. 

The story that we hear unfolding has the artist going back and forth, apologetically, trying to make amends for stagnation - where the other character must "feel stuck". When the chorus breaks through, we can feel the sobering darkness of the piano and reversed guitar. Almost as if the artist is trying to forcefully turn back the hands of time. When the second half of the chorus starts, we begin to see the full and vibrant colors of the song. The space is opened up for twinkly keys, soaring guitar riffs, and vocals swimming in delay and reverb. 

The second verse immediately feels more confident but also somehow more desperate, as the story continues. The emotions being portrayed are much more intense, "there I was on the floor of your dorm, hyperventilating". You feel as if the artist is trying to convince himself of something so strongly by quoting some overused motivational tropes, "in the end, everything will be alright just give it some time... BUT HOW MUCH TIME?" When the final chorus comes in, we're struck with a euphoric anthem that we want to sing over and over. Which we do, in fact, as the chorus repeats until it distorts into a fading silence. 

Although the song is just over three minutes, it presents many complex emotions and sonic changes, leaving the listener interested throughout its entirety. It's quite easy to play this song two or three times through without getting tired of it. A very solid 4.8 out of 5 for this phenomenal piece of art by Also Joe. 

Austin Jones, Independent Music Critic

Nevermind

Juniper Street

Lightspeed

Welcome to our second episode! In this podcast episode, we discuss the recent mass shooting that happened in Parkland, Florida and the recent dialogue surrounding gun laws and mass shootings. As always, this is a work in progress so please let us know what you think!

Email us at virgintreespodcast@gmail.com or tweet @ us on Twitter @virgintrees

Thank you so much for listening :)

Virgin Trees 

Episode Two: Mass Shooters and Toxic Masculinity

Virgin Trees podcast: a podcast created by Miriam and Becca that works to tackle current intersectional feminist issues while also occasionally cracking jokes and getting into arguments. Join us! Contact us at virgintreespodcast@gmail.com to submit ideas, questions, comments!

Episode Two: Mass Shooters and Toxic Masculinity

Virgin Trees

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