Out of all the projects released on March 28th, Chloe Moriondo’s aquatic fourth studio album, oyster, was my most anticipated. Since early January, we’ve been indulging in the album's appetizers, the three lead singles, ‘shoreline’, ‘hate it’, and ‘abyss’. From these alone, Moriondo set a clear tone for the project, immediately showing off a new maturity and experimental production style, setting oyster apart from that of SUCKERPUNCH (2022) and Blood Bunny (2021).
There is a lot to be said about oyster as a cohesive body of work. From a production standpoint, it feels more immersive than Moriondo’s previous projects, as each song creates an atmosphere rather than being a kick in the face. While Moriondo has done this in the past, especially with ‘cd baby <3’ and ‘Hotel For Clowns’, it has not yet been done with the same consistency. Like a siren, this production style lures a listener in, building this investment as you follow Moriondo’s themes of infatuation, heartbreak, vulnerability, and “emotional turbulance” throughout the oyster.
[ Offical Album Art by Tetsuhiro Wakabayashi ]
Though this may be taken as recency bias, oyster stands as Moriondo’s best album to date. It’s this rich blend of the emotional lyrics that initially drew people to the Indie Pop singer while tapping into the digital production style heard on SUCKERPUNCH. Yet, it’s all elevated, with oyster smashing any expectations listeners may have previously set, solidifying Moriondo’s generational talent.
“oyster is a culmination of many things. newfound independence that makes you feel like a baby turtle trying to make it to sea for the first time on your own, horrible habits and all-encompassing infatuations that cling to you like urchins, self-reflection, self-scrutiny, crying, laughing, dancing, and swimming. i love this project so much and i truly can’t explain how personal this one feels to me. it’s the first one i really felt like i did “on my own.” if you catch my sad little drift.”
- Moriondo’s moving words about oyster via Instagram
[ Photo by @s_h_u_r ]
Opening the album is ‘catch’, which comes across as weak compared to the rest of the tracklist, but Moriondo describes it for Flood Magazine as the “correct” first song. It unleashes all the themes of “infatuation and self-awareness of false hope/bad habits” that haunt the record's runtime. It flows into ‘raw’ immediately breaking into the jolty synths, reminiscent of the chiller hyperpop sounds witnessed on the back end of SUCKERPUNCH. ‘raw’ has a case of the emotional lyrics hidden by this uplifting beat, with listeners possibly missing the songs focus of “the aftermath and vulnerability of being hurt” if they’re a music first listener. What stands out about ‘raw’ to me is Moriondo’s enunciation of the chorus’s line “Raw, so slick, you could like it from my wrists like-”, as it scratches my brain perfectly.
‘hate it’ and ‘abyss’ were both released as singles for oyster, with the pair of tracks representing some of Moriondo’s “bad ideas”. ‘hate it’, as I described in a previous article, is very Substance-esc, being a twisted tale of envy and lust that borderlines psychotic. ‘abyss’ follows as this totumn of organized recklessness, talking about kissing strangers and wildly dancing as a way to avoid these larger encapsulating feelings. Musically, both of these tracks are very fun, leading me to ask, if these are “bad ideas,” why do they seem so good?
‘oyster’, the record's title track and first song written for the album, might be one of my favourites. Immediately, you’re sonically brought into this spacey and distant atmosphere. It feels as if you’re standing in this dark, spacious room, not quite black, but maybe navy blue. There’s cool water that pools around your ankles, and the only light you can see is this mesmerising bioluminescence within the water that surrounds where you stand. From this spaciness, the track builds up, and you’re hit with a perfect chorus, with every sound becoming present in an instant.
Following ‘oyster’ is ‘shoreline’, the first taste we had of oyster, and arguably the fan favourite. Moriondo leans into a vulnerability here, outlining the “special type of isolation you feel after your first major heartbreak”. Although it can be frightening to put your feelings and mindset so openly on a song, ‘shoreline’ has given listeners a space to resonate and connect with Moriondo, both acknowledging and relating to this universal emotional experience.
[ Photo via @tornblackjeans ]
‘parasite’, as I described in my notes, is “straight heat”. Moriondo wrote the track right after her phone was blown up with degrading messages from the ex of a boy she was talking to. Despite not knowing him well, she still liked him, getting his parasitic feeling from the experience. I believe the drums are totally essential for this track, being the stand-out feature, rivaled only by how Moriondo says “I’m eight legs on ice, on ice, on ice” within the second chorus.
Moving into ‘7seas’, we’re met with synths that resemble bubbles popping and these clunky and heavy drums. Moriondo plays with ups and downs within ‘7seas’, both vocally and instrumentally, showcasing this unique range oyster had yet to tap into. A thought that passed my mind while listening to ‘7seas’ specifically was how perfectly Moriondo's vocals align with the beats of her songs, which is a simple and common element of all music, but considering the amount of striking and defined beats oyster carries, a well-timed lyric is greatly appreciated.
Moriondo describes track 9, ‘weak,’ as ‘7seas’, “more knowing yet similarly hopeless sister.” Both songs revolve around the feeling and phases of having a crush that leaves you head over heels and blind to reality. ‘weak’ to me feels like an ice-cold pool, a complete shock to your senses, especially paired with the synth-like harp. ‘use’ on the other and brings back this dazy and detached feeling, only picking up within the chorus with these powerful drums that create this shock factor. It stands as this delightful and cathartic concoction of bad habits, with Moriondo reflecting on her mistakes and vices. There are plenty of layers to unpack with ‘use’, both within the track's meaning and actual production, giving a new listening experience every time.
[ Photo by @s_h_u_r ]
‘sinking’ is unique as it is a collaborative piece without the word “feature” being slapped on the title. Moriondo made this track with tomcbumpz in his studio, with both artists bringing in this sentimental, optimistic, and mildly melancholic on the day. Moriondo put down a verse, with tomcbumpz providing a chorus, building the basis for ‘sinking’’s foundation. I adored the warping sounds mixed in with the quick drums that sound like rain hitting a rock. While listening, I imagined myself to be held underwater for the first bit of the track, surrounded by these deafening waves before being pulled up for air, not gasping or panicking, but immediately being hit by an epiphany about the world around me.
oyster’s second-to-last track is ‘pond’, and may just be the saddest off of the album. There are elements of a ballad lingering, with this piano keeping listeners grounded. Listening to ‘pond’ gives the impression that we’ve officially sunk to the bottom of the ocean, watching this distressed siren version of Moriondo mourning. There’s a bone-chilling aspect to ‘pond’ as a whole, especially when Moriondo utters the earth-shattering lyrics of “It makes me cry to imagine that you'd like this song, if it were about anyone else”. Something can be said about the gravity of this situation, and how even after someone is gone from your life, the littlest things will remind you of them. It's beautiful, tragic, and bittersweet.
[ Photo via @tornblackjeans]
‘siren calling’ puts the album to rest with Moriondo recounting the first relationship they got into after the heartbreak portrayed throughout the album. They say, “It [siren calling] ends in the realization that I don’t know much about how to be alone or what I want outside of someone to love. I think I'm slowly getting a pretty good hang of it since finishing the creation of oyster”. ‘siren calling’ brings the record full circle, allowing listeners to either jump back into the emotional cycle of oyster again or completely deviate, continuing on the path of growth.
In the words of Chloe Moriondo herself, “heartbreak —> saltwater rebirth”.
You can Pre-Order the oyster Oceania Vinyl or CD through Chloe Moriondos' Store Here.
To hear oyster, alongside her other hits live, you can check her upcoming tour dates Here.
[ Photo via @tornblackjeans]
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