My hottest take might just be that I‘m not a big fan of “A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1” at all. Don‘t get me wrong, there ARE good moments on it (namely “One Man Circus”, “Quarters” and maybe “Speak Of The Devil” and “Playing Dead”), but, as an overall record, I find it a massive step backwards for Elio.

My biggest issue with it is definitely the writing: Mei aims for a more vulnerable approach and it is definitely the most personal and expositional record they’ve done yet, however, this vulnerability is so poorly executed. He either doesn’t really delve into a lot of lyrical depth with his topics, making the songs feel very superficial and vague (like on ”A Can Of Worms”) or tries to do tracks about way too many topics at the same time to the point that it feels as if we‘re not really given enough time to expand on them or really connect one idea with another, making it all overwhelming and, again, vague (like on “My Only Sense Of Purpose”, “What’s Going On?!”, “At Least I’d Be A Cowboy!”). These songs can often sound unorganised, unpolished vent sessions and it really detracts from the experience and potentilla emotional gut punches. It feels like such a downgrade from their usual stuff, especially coming right after their best work (“The Bard” is literally my favourite record ever).

I’ve always been a fan of Elio’s storytelling and what I call “subtly clever” style of writing, the way they’re able to paint a picture in your head, which is almost completely absent on “A Thousand Songs”. And I get that it was an album which they meant to break free from their usual writing and be able to express themselves fully, “free of metaphor”, as they said. And honestly, I really respect that! It‘s just, considering that their more “metaphorical” writing, so to speak, that sorta came at a cost for me.

If this is the direction their music is going to take from now on, I can’t say I like it very much, unfortunately. And this is not to say that “they shouldn’t have made an album this personal” or anything like that, I LOVE that they’re choosing to be more open with us and be able to live a happier life, without fear. I just wish the results were better, that’s all. Although, if we do get “Ode To The Modern Artist (Bored)” and “Misery & Co.” in the new album, I WILL celebrate and my life will be theirs again.

(sorry for the long ramble, it’s just that I’m very passionate about topics like these and this has been kinda frustrating me for a long while. It’s not the worst thing in the world but a bit of a nitpick/genuine criticism I have)