Well-known for making music on social media and for her debut single “Producer Man”, Singer Lyn Lapid released her album “to love in the 21st century” over the summer. The pop album tells the story of a boy and a girl who fall in love and are in a “situationship”. They talk for exactly 147 days, but never actually date. Overall, the album accurately depicts the struggles of no-label relationships and allows the listeners to connect emotionally.
Lapid’s album changes tone to show first the excitement of a relationship starting, then the acceptance after heartbreak. The first few songs, “poster boy”, “do u really?”, and “pick your brain” keep an upbeat, “hopeless romantic” tone. The songs talk about falling in love at first sight, commitment, and understanding in a relationship. The next song, “keep me around”, keeps the upbeat tone, but the singer begins to feel like an option after she falls in love. In her song “tlit21c”, the story shifts, and the tone wavers, showing that Lapid is starting to question her relationship. Near the end of the EP, Lapid’s songs “like you want me to”, “the alternative”, and “cross ur mind” give a mellow tone and show that she can’t contribute to the relationship, yet doesn’t want to move on. Her last song, “ok with it” takes place a while after she stops talking to her said “lover” and the upbeat tone returns, showing that she has moved on, giving a bittersweet ending to the album.
Throughout the EP, instrumentation also gets the story across. Lapid talks in an interview with Sweety High about how the songs differ in musical effect: “We start the EP with a lot of ukulele and bright synths in songs like ‘poster boy,’ ‘pick your brain’ and ‘do u really?’,” she said. However, in the middle of her album, when the singer realizes her position in the “situationship”, “there are much heavier instruments such as piano, strings, and synths,” Lapid said. The end of the EP brings back the brighter sounds in the song “ok with it”, she said, “giving the story a bittersweet yet satisfying ending”. The effect of the music is also portrayed by the change in the singer’s voice. In a separate interview with “Her Campus”, Lapid talked about “the alternative” and said, “That last bit where my voice goes really soft is a recognition that things didn’t go how you planned. You accept that the relationship is over.” The effect the music has on the listener, and even the singer, shows how much of a masterpiece the album is.
Finally, Lapid’s EP has a central theme of maturation and love. In a “Sweety High” interview, the singer shares a message with the listeners that it’s okay to move on: “I hope fans can walk away after listening to this EP knowing that you don’t need to force or uphold any kind of relationship for the sake of not being alone, and that it’s totally fine if they end,” she said. Lapid takes her audience through a story showing how her knowledge about relationships grows, and that she’s okay with being by herself. The theme of coming of age and moving on in a relationship is given to the listener in such an entertaining way and helps us understand love, especially in our generation.
Ultimately, the singer takes listeners through a journey filled with happiness and heartbreak. The instruments and vocals bring a dramatic effect, showing the turning points in the characters’ relationship. In Lapid’s album, the struggles of love without labels are shown accurately in today’s society.
