Against The Current Release Upbeat, Healing Sophomore Album “Past Lives”

by Emily Armitage

Against The Current, a powerful female fronted group from Poughkeepsie, New York have just released a fun, upbeat, bright, raw, emotional album called Past Lives. Overall, the album has a very catchy, poppy sound but the lyrics in each of the songs are very honest, raw, and some of them are very dark. There is a mix of songs on both ends of the spectrum. The title for this album is very fitting because it feels like you’re taking a step into the past of what is assumed to be vocalist, Chrissy Costanza. The first track is the first single that was released called “Strangers Again” and this song describes Costanza’s inner battle that took a toll on a relationship illustrated by the lyrics “I look around and i’m feeling like I built a prison and put myself in it”. As the song goes on, it seems that the other person contributed to her perspective of herself, “I wanted out, but you held me down and fed me the lies I told to myself”. There are number of songs on this album about this toxic relationship like “Almost Forgot”, “The Fuss”, “Personal”, and “Scream”. Relationships are never easy but so many men and women struggle with emotional abuse and it is not talked about as often as physical abuse so these songs can really touch people on a raw, emotional level. On a more uplifting level, we have “Friendly Reminder” where the chorus says, “Friendly reminder, remember to smile. Remember that pain only lasts for a while” and “Sweet Surrender” which talks about finally surrendering yourself to something good and “I Like The Way” which talks about living in the moment and focusing on the things you like. “Voices”, “Come Alive”, and “P.A.T.T.” are more about the personal struggle whether it be the voices inside of your head bringing you down or telling you that all of your fears are going to come true, to realizing that you’re not okay but you just want to feel alive, to the pressures of society or a significant other that make you feel like you have to be pretty all the time. This album embodies everything that against the current is and the fire that is inside of Chrissy that anyone can see when they see her perform on stage. It also is a reminder that she is struggling with things that the rest of us are and that we are not alone. The stand out tracks on this album, in my opinion, are “Strangers Again”, “Voices”, “I Like The Way”, and “P.A.T.T.”. The best thing about this album is that it successfully takes dark themes but presents them in a brighter way which also gives a little bit of irony because it sounds like a happy song but it’s really just expressing a lot of pain but with a lot of hope, growth and recovery. The production on the record is also very well done, it’s very clean and everything flows together nicely and it creates a vibe that matches the emotions. This record shows a lot of growth and healing from previous releases “Gravity- EP” and “In Our Bones” and it compliments the sound of “In Our Bones” but with a different twist. This album definitely gives a more intimate feel.

10/10

Listen to “I Like The Way”, “Strangers Again”, “P.A.T.T.”, and “Scream”.