New Jersey native and vocalist Ashley Frangipane, better known as Halsey started from humble beginnings doing acoustic covers of singers like Lana Del Rey songs on her YouTube channel, before releasing the “Room 93” EP back in 2014. On “Badlands” Halsey departs from the more inhibited sound of her initial releases, trading in whisper-soft indie singer vocals and delicate synth patches for the brash dynamics and monumental choruses on tracks like “New Americana” and “Castle.”

 The cinematic vibe of the record is driven by Halsey’s interesting wordplay and dramatic sensibility to her lyricism. Each line is carefully crafted to the point where it reads as candor from a diary entry, but on the surface are a pentimento shrouded in layers of meaning. Loaded with 80s synths and heavy beats, the singer makes use of the softer, muted contrasts of sound in a more considered manner, making tracks at a more moderate volume a welcome interlude between the more intense moments on the record. Not one to stray from self-reference, the singer alludes to her song “Hurricane” off “Room 93” and the deluxe edition of “Badlands” on her track “Gasoline”

“Are you deranged like me? Are you strange like me?
Lighting matches just to swallow up the flame like me?
Do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me?”

 What contributes to the cult of personality and mysterious side of Halsey is her presence on social media. @iamhalsey is a projection within the persona of the singer and shows her in a far different light. Ranging from her aesthetically composed selfies on Instagram, to her Twitter posts where she calls out injustice on racism and sexism (as she is herself biracial and openly bisexual), the singer has become a celebrity in her own right in the era of micro-fame based on the merit of her personality and her ever-improving skills as a vocalist.

 Playing much larger venues touring with Imagine Dragons earlier this date, the singer is taking to the road to support Badlands with two, sold-out dates in NYC at the more intimate Webster Hall. As well as, select dates on The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness” tour. However, the singer is doing a much smaller meet and greet/release show at Urban Outfitters on September 3rd with details here.

 On “Badlands”, Halsey draws her brush from a palette of vivid and saturated tones, creating compositions that define beauty within the delicate lines of discord and lust.