album: Somewhere City - Origami Angel
words: aaron eisenreich
Origami Angel’s debut full-length, Somewhere City, is like a personal pep-talk delivered through insanely catchy melodies on top of breakneck drums and guitar. It’s an emo album that dwells on mental health, but in an uplifting and positive way that almost seems charmingly (and welcomingly) out of place in 2019. A good deal of the lyrics are focused outwards, as direct attempts to cheer up a friend who needs it. With Somewhere City, Origami Angel has created a stunning and comforting world for us all to escape to for a half hour.
Album opener “Welcome To…” greets you with a looping guitar riff and sparse drumming while vocalist/guitarist Ryland Heagy introduces the idea of looking for somewhere to belong, an idea that extends throughout most of the record. The song picks up as Heagy sings “finally I feel like I’m not alone here/finally I feel like I have a home here” and drummer Pat Doherty kicks the duo into gear. It’s followed by “24 Hour Drive Thru,” an instantly catchy song about cheering someone up with a fast food run. The way Heagy follows the line about being sad and alone with “and it doesn’t have to be that way” wonderfully illustrates the energy Origami Angel is putting out on this record.
“666 Flags” comes next, this time looking inward as the band spends some time contemplating google searches and how to be the version of you that you need to be. Even as the lyrics dig into some darker depths, Heagy comes back with an adamant “I’m OK” before leading into a manic outro. That outro takes you right into “Doctor Whomst,” which features some sweet handclaps and more fast food. Again, it’s a catchy and uplifting song with Heagy singing “I think I’m starting to like myself” to lead off the chorus. It’s the sound of someone not just coming to peace with who they are, but embracing it and learning how to move forward.
“Doctor Whomst” is followed by “Say Less,” a song directed to someone who hates you, and “Escape Room,” which has great energy from the start. There’s a lyric about it getting dark at five that seems all too fitting giving the time of year for the album’s release.
“The Title Track” begins a staggeringly great three-song-run that also includes “Skeleton Key” and “Find Your Throne.” The first of the three begins with only Heagy’s guitar. The group drops the drums out only a handful of times on the record and it always seems to grab your attention in a way that prepares you to focus on what’s about to come next. It works every time, but the riff in “The Title Track” is particularly awesome. The chorus is once again full of uplifting lyrics with promises that Somewhere City is waiting for you and you’re gonna love it.
“Skeleton Key” also drops the drums for a moment, followed by a brief “whoo!” before kicking off. The chorus of “I hope you know everything you do is special to me, your my skeleton key” is sweet, fun, and heartfelt at once. “Find Your Throne” starts with a quick build-up into the verse, which is sure to get you moving (like pretty much all of Somewhere City). The bridge of the song moves gradually into the biggest moment on the album, and one of the best things I’ve heard in 2019, or any year really. When Heagy screams “you’re the goddamn king of the universe” after a pause, it sounds like a moment that was meant to be played live to a room of people screaming their lungs out along with the band.
If you’ve made it this far and had any doubt about Origami Angel, album closer “The Air Up Here” will show you how silly those doubts were. The song begins by recalling the musical and lyrical ideas of the album’s opener before turning into a cacophony of various melodies and moments from the record played on top of each other. It’s kind of like how some musicals end with medleys of songs from the show, except done by a two-piece emo band.
The track ends with the same looping riff from “Welcome To…” bringing you back to the start of song one. It’s a cool idea that fits well with Somewhere City because you’re probably going to end up putting it on again anyway. I’ve hardly stopped listening to it.