Spanish Love Songs -- Brave Faces Everyone Album Review

 

One of the best albums to come out in 2020, Spanish Love Songs' Brave Faces Everyone wrestles with what it means to survive in a tumultuous and uncaring open world. 

Spanish Love Songs are a Los Angeles based punk rock band founded in 2014. Their first album, Giant Sings the Blues had solid reception, a level of success and notoriety that was furthered by their 2018 sophomore project Schmaltz. Traditionally, I would say their sound normally features catchy guitar riffs over banging drums that accentuate emotional lyrics.

In terms of the actual review, I honestly do not know where to start with what I like about this album. Almost every track has been a favorite of mine at one point or another, which is a testament to the overall messaging and strength of the project. Slocum's singing on each song is heartfelt and emotional, the lyrics are thought-provoking and relatable, and the project is cohesive with no "filler" tracks. Brave Faces Everyone is an album about empathy. Every track evokes a clear picture of someone facing a personal hardship, such as the meaning behind growing up and being "middle-aged", generational pain and anxiety, and seeing your loved ones struggle with their own lives. Starting with "Routine Pain", Spanish Love Songs immediately hits us with a somber picture of the monotony of adult life. How people struggle with their familial relationships, finances, friendships, and themselves comes up numerous times across tracks like  "Kick", "Beach Front Property",  "Losers 2", and more. You have this nice sub-theme of water and climate change as it appears on "Generation Loss" when Slocum sings about he and his friends will "throw themselves into the ocean", and on "Optimism (As a Radical Life Choice)" where the singer equates his mortality and own spirit breaking to sinking into the rising sea level or being engulfed by a landslide. Another indication of the album's strength is the many quotable lyrics. Hearing Slocum sing "Well don't know you were born to die poor, man? // Don't you know you're gonna do yourself in? // And you'll always wake up tired // Because there's nowhere we go from here" on "Losers 2" is electrifying as he airs out the stress he feels about his life and its trajectory. The album concludes with the title track, "Brave Faces Everyone", which has numerous callbacks to others points in the project, as well as references to songs on Schmaltz. The bridge combining the choruses from most all of the songs on the album is a really nice touch that neatly ties together an already well-connected album, ending on the positive note of, "We were never broken // Life's just very long // Brave faces everyone". 

Reflecting on the past few months I have spent listening to this project, I genuinely have very little, if anything, to critique. As I previously stated, the album consists of entirely well-composed and beautifully delivered tracks, devoid of any "throwaways". If I had to nitpick, I was not the biggest fan of the transition from "Kick" to "Beach Front Property" because of the change in pace. However, this critique is incredibly minor as the sequencing did not feel entirely awkward in the first place. 

Ultimately, Brave Faces Everyone is not only a project that I will continue to revisit but also one that I feel will continue to grow on me as experience the themes addressed in the project. The composition of each song is fleshed out both musically and lyrically, with a nice balance of catchy guitar melodies and anxious lyrics about what it feels like to age. The project has a certain genuineness  that I feel is unrivaled by other albums. Furthermore, I think that Brave Faces Everyone really does a good job of breaching a topic in music that is not really addressed often in a charming and deft manner. 

Rating: 

Flow and Delivery: 9.9/10
Lyrics: 10/10
Production: 9.7/10
Overall: 9.87/10

What do you think about this album and its songs?
Where do you think Spanish Love Songs will go next with their music?
I hope you enjoyed this review.
-J