I’m probably not the only person plagued by bad social interactions, mini life crises, and questions of self doubt. I could dedicate this entire post to writing about my issues, but UPSAHL does it better in her latest EP, Young Life Crisis, released in October 2020. Twenty year old Taylor Upsahl was at home in Arizona during the pandemic when she came out with the album, and I’ve been addicted to it ever since. Her sound is edgy and dark; pop with elements of rock. Each song has a verifiably unique sound, but they all come together to pretty much summarize the issues that most twenty year olds can collectively understand.

Her first song and the title track, “Young Life Crisis” describes the feeling of not really knowing what to do with your life ― something that has been amplified since the pandemic. Setting the overall tone for the rest of the EP, UPSAHL describes this song as her way of understanding her existential crisis and “raging through it all.” Her song is the perfect blend of pop and rock ― a catchy chorus with upbeat piano chords underlined with raw guitar riffs, to create the, understandably, most popular song of the EP.

 

 

UPSAHL’s “Fake Bitch” translates our experiences of pretending that things are okay in front of others when they really aren’t ― and sometimes even ignoring them ourselves to avoid them. It’s always easier to feign ignorance to our issues. This song somewhat reminds me of Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the people ― sad lyrics to a sing-songy and pleasant tune. This song might be the most introspective of the album, and her lyrics are accompanied only by a peaceful guitar and her calm voice― yet, another facade.

Even if UPSAHL refers to herself as a fake bitch, the rest of the album is refreshingly honest and a lot of fun to listen to. The issues that UPSAHL deals with in this EP are universal and often sung about, but her take on them in her songs is unique and fun ― definitely one of my favorite EP’s of the year.