Saddest Girl at the Party - A Review of Suzie Trues Debut Album
Released on November 27, 2020 with Get Better Records Suzie Trues debut album Saddest Girl at The Party has you returning to a time of bedroom walls covered in ripped out magazine posters and falling for people in bands at basement punk shows, as it transports you back to the 2000s through compelling bass riffs and bubblegum punk vocals.
Bailey, Carmen, and Toothache were the pre-released singles that open the album with a bang. Carmen, inspired by the animated character Carmen Sandiego, stands out as it criticizes the idea of the manic pixie dream girl. It cleverly shows how you can’t always become want someone wants you to be or who they see you as by saying that one cannot become its namesake.
Throughout the album, Suzie True has mixed the 2000s tone with timely lyrics to formulate anthems for people who don’t quite make the millennial cut, but definitely can’t relate to Gen Z. Crushtomer highlights this as it tells the story of a barista who hates her job and is using a crush on a regular customer to get through shifts.
Another key theme is the difficulties related to navigating all the angst and self-destruction of your first relationships. Sixteen, IDK U, and Camel Crush bring up topics from trying to figure out if someone likes you back to putting aside all your needs to make a one sided relationship work. They make you reminiscent of times you can laugh about now, but would never want to return to.
Lucky finishes off Saddest Girl at the Party with a sense of progress. Alluding to struggles with mental health and sobriety, it shows the beginnings of someone moving away from self-destructive cycles while also being realistic about the desire to return to them. A hopeful testament to growing out of the behaviours and relationships embraced on the albums previous tracks.
Listen to Saddest Girl at the Party:
And don't miss out on my interview with the band, Suzie True on Cry Baby Culture and Cartoons: