Aug 16, 2021
Full EP Review: blackbear- misery lake
30 year old Matthew Musto AKA blackbear, released his new eighteen minute EP this last Friday, “misery lake”, continuing a streak of releases that he has had each year since 2015. “misery lake” drops almost exactly a year from his last album drop, August 2020’s, “everything means nothing” which spawned the chart topping certified triple platinum single “hot girl bummer” that blackbear says was “career altering” for him. The drop date for the EP was actually pushed back from an earlier unannounced date due to blackbear switching record labels, something he explained to fans on an Insta post.
Chart Topper: Per Top Charts, the single “hot girl bummer” reached #4 on the Spotify Chart and #3 on the Apple Music Chart
Musical Versatility
blackbear has a broad portfolio of music artists he has worked with, easily more than 100+. As where some artists tend to stick with collaborating with artists within their same genre, blackbear has worked with both hip-hop and pop icons all while still maintaining his style while jumping on their tracks. It is something that he is proud of and recently in an interview with Billboard, blackbear admitted he wants to work with K-Pop band BTS and Ariana Grande eventually. He credits his music producer Andrew Goldstein for getting him connections and also takes suggestions from his fans on who he should collab with next. “misery lake” features three credited features in up and coming Canadian singer Tate McRae, singer Sasha Alex Sloan and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker who blackbear considers an idol of his. Also blackbear collabed with Charlie Puth for the electric infused last track on the EP “bad day”.
Did you know? blackbear helped co-write the popular 2012 song “Boyfriend” which helped catapult Justin Bieber into stardom
Misery Lake — EP
The entirety of the EP was written during the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with featured artists having to send their vocals to blackbear. During the writing process for the album blackbear admitted he wasn't trying to make pop songs but was instead trying to go back to his roots. Here’s a track-by-track breakdown of “misery lake”:
- alone in a room full of people
The first track on the EP plays as an excellent introduction to the overall feel to the EP, which contrary to the EP art cover and name has nothing to do with nature. blackbear even says that this song has a “digital druglord” vibe to it referencing his hit 2017 album. The track (and EP in general) boasts a prominent piano cover over the entirety of it.
2. @ my worst
Coming in at track 2 is the ultimate dark-themed gloomy banger “@ my worst” that is currently trending on multiple charts as I type this. This song, featured as the second single off the EP, released about a week before the EP itself dropped along with the perfect music video to go with it which you can see below. blackbear said he wanted to get back to his roots in this EP and this track and accompanying music video is vintage blackbear with the message, brooding bass, and sharp vocals that cut like a knife through the beat loud and clear.
3. u love u (with Tate McRae)
While blackbear said he wanted to go back to his roots, his pop side comes out full bloom in the lead single, “u love u”. Canadian singer Tate McCrae is involved with the track and the two mesh near perfectly in this summer playlist ready track singing about selfish self-obnoxious lovers. In addition to this, a music video (that actually relates to the album name!!) was dropped too that you can see below.
4. ghost town (feat. Sasha Alex Sloan)
ghost town feels like a complete throwback to the sound of blackbear’s 2017 album “cybersex”. When working on the track, blackbear wasn't happy with how the chorus sounded so his music producer suggested they get the up and coming pop singer/songwriter Sasha Alex Sloan who has co-written hits for the likes of Charli XCX and Camillo Cabello to do the chorus and when she did it blackbear absolutely loved it. The track is another dark themed gloomy banger with more brooding bass and a female vocalist on top of it.
5. imu (feat. Travis Barker)
This track in essence is just an ultimate pop-rock mash up between the vocals of blackbear and the drum slamming passion of Travis Barker. Pop-rock of course, being the name of the genre that blackbear is being heralded recently as helping to revive along with others like Machine Gun Kelly. In this also summer playlist ready track blackbear sings of missing an ex.
6. bad day
On the last track on “misery lake”, blackbear teams up with Charlie Puth who before this track he had worked with on the song “Hard on Yourself” in 2020. The track is filled with electronic influence as blackbear sings about hoping someone has a bad day because of him (and a baby apparently).
Synopsis: “misery lake” is an expertly written and executed EP, better than some full length albums that have released (and still for some reason have not dropped, yes I'm talking about you @ Drake) this year. blackbear has done an excellent job appetizing the lyrical appetites of his most ardent OG fans while still appeasing the mass audience that “hot girl bummer” awarded him. Quite confidently I can say that when it comes to music, “misery lake” and more importantly, blackbear just. do. not. MISS.
EP score: 4.7/5.0
Christian’s Top 3:
- “@ my worst”
- “u love u” (with Tate McRae)
- “ghost town” (feat. Sasha Alex Sloan)
You can listen to “misery lake- EP” here.
