Album review: Sydney Sprague – Somebody In Hell Loves You

There’s a certain spirit carried in early ’00s pop-rock, one that is rarely captured and recreated faithfully these days. But Sydney Sprague, whether subconsciously or consciously, seems to have cracked it on Somebody In Hell Loves You.

Sydney wrote the tracks for this second album during the pandemic lockdowns, when, as she says, “It felt like the movie had ended and the credits had rolled on life but we were all still here for some reason.” Originally writing with the idea that these songs were for her ears only is perhaps what gives this album such a homegrown glimmer, something that feels classic.

The muffled noise of disturbance through a speaker plays out before the album springs straight into the main chunks of opener If I’m Honest, packed with twangy guitar and crashing drums. It’s carried on a collection of verses and big instrumental chunks which almost act as choruses, glittered with melodic licks. It sets the tone for letting go and moving on, and prioritising what parts of the past really matter.

When Smiley Face later skips in, it offers more of Sydney's indie-rock side, with the jabbing lyrical melody of ‘I’m fine, you’re fine, we’re fine’. It carries post-pandemic existentialism yet still feels lively and euphoric. With Nobody Knows Anything following suit, it feels almost like a sequel to Smiley Face, but with a slower tempo, fuzzy bass and a looping, ethereal chiming riff.

Closer Sketching Lessons feels like a self-soothing letter to the inner child. ‘It’s gonna be alright kid, if it’s not we’ll pretend like it is,’ she deftly sings. It’s trance-like and soft, almost like being inside a memory.

Somebody In Hell Loves You is a body of personal tracks, which dazzle with a bedroom-written, garage-rehearsed wholesome tint. It swings between feminine and pretty, to spikey and snarling, and whilst each song feels close to Sydney’s heart, they remain relatable, too.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Meet Me @ The Altar, Pool Kids, Fall Out Boy

Somebody In Hell Loves You is out now via Rude Records