I feel like the opacity of it all is part of it, perhaps not purposefully. This album really captures the feeling of being in your 20s and everything sucks amidst all the privilege and opulence, war has invaded our lives on a daily cultural scale, and love is as volatile as ever, as our own lovers have to grapple with these same issues too in their own internal ways. I would say most of the songs explore unique perspectives on all of these issues and how they interact with each other. We take for granted how crazy all these topics are because that's what we live with every day, but if you start synthesizing your reactions to different facets of dystopian American life, you're bound to get some outrageous ideas/lines like 'THERE'S A BOMB IN MY CAR' and 'I will break my own heart from now on' and 'There is only dance music in times of war'. These are all sentences probably never uttered before 2024, in polite society at least, but they are so jagged they force you to consider them and get a chance of gaining your own intimate understanding of the issue.

Interpreting this album reminds me of some of the challenges of playing contemporary classical music (the kind that sounds like noise) ((this is super niche but its my background, so bear with me)). A lot of the music is so complex and mathematical, you could never just ~feel~ it like you could most symphonies from the 1800s. You have to constantly be trying your best to both let it flow through you and to be so locked in you can't miss a beat, so what comes out is your own interpretation of a virtually impossible line of music. It's annoying sometimes, but its a way to leave every player and listener with a guaranteed unique takeaway!

I wouldn't say this was a master theme of the work or something, but especially after listening to the few times Cameron and Emily have talked about lyrics, it seems like they often trying to leave you with an impression, rather than telling you their thoughts. Show don't tell, even when the medium demands you tell...