Firestone Has Mastered a Form of Lyrical Weaving Similar to That of Halsey and Taylor Swift.
On January 20th, 2023, Leanna Firestone released her new EP “Public Displays of Affection.” Over the course of five tracks she tells the story of losing someone she thought to be the love of her life, and finding someone who turned out to be just that. On a recent Instagram post she said the EP is about “the way it felt to fall in real requited love for the first time.”
Produced by Adam Boukis, the EP is the perfect mix of upscale-bedroom-pop backing and honest, charismatic storytelling by Firestone. Each song creates its own world, while moving through the story of heartbreak and new love.
The track list is laid out as follows:
- You Just Didn’t Like Me That Much
- Reincarnation
- Love of My Life
- God and the Government
- Right Person, Right Time
On Track 1, Firestone sings of the process of getting over an ex. She admits that for a while she hated the person for playing with her heart, but now realizes they just didn’t like her that much. It’s a song about learning to handle breakups with poise and understanding for the other person.
From here, her lyrical craftsmanship comes out in full force. From Track 2 on, she begins to weave lyrics from one song into others. This creates an epic type effect, where certain lines are repeated to remind listeners the timeline of the story. Reincarnation and You Just Didn’t Like Me That Much are referenced in Love of My Life. Her previous releases Smitten and Suneater are both referenced in Right Person, Right Time.
“Public Displays of Affection” sounds like a mix of some of pop’s biggest artists coming together. You Just Didn’t Like Me That Much has production that resembles 1989 era Taylor Swift. Reincarnation and God and the Government are reminiscent of Olivia Rodrigo’s enough for you and good 4 u.
For Firestone to boast these comparisons at this point in her career is really something. Lovers of up-and-coming stars should keep an eye on her trajectory, as she’s aiming to land among the greats.
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