Released: August 5
Lauv documents his journey to rediscovering himself on his superb second album ‘All 4 Nothing’.
The follow-up to 2019’s ‘How I’m Feeling’ sees the singer-songwriter – whose meteoric rise to fame off the back of a string of viral hits left him feeling disconnected from his roots – explore his place in the world across 13 of his most personal tracks yet.
Opening with lead single 26, he addresses that success directly, musing: ‘Can I tell you a story about a boy who broke his own heart / He made a couple songs and they got big / He thought that he could do whatever he wanted / But it all left him with a hole in his heart.’
It’s a candid beginning to an album that sees him navigate different facets of his personal life, from love and relationships to alcohol, drugs and dependency, which were born of his newfound practice of inner child meditation.
It sees Lauv visualise himself at different points in his life and reconnect with his childhood self, which in turn helped him rediscover his drive, love and passion for music, which he speaks of on tracks such as Kids Are Born Stars and Hey Ari – a tender highlight that sees him speak to himself, through his anxiety and self-medication, and address his personal happiness.
What stands out on ‘All 4 Nothing’, though, is the positive energy that radiates from the largely-upbeat collection, as Lauv embraces the various components of his personality.
On Stranger, for example, he identifies with failed relationships and accepts faults of the past, while Stay Together sees him wash his hands of past romances that were never meant to be with an overarching sense of catharsis.
While creating the record, many of the recordings began with freestyle ideas, with Molly In Mexico demonstrative of that approach, resulting in what’s perhaps not the finest or best crafted lyric of his career, but a playful highlight from the album that, through relinquishing control and having fun in his music, captures a moment in time.
It’s a joy that bleeds through certain tracks, most notably the single All 4 Nothing (I’m So In Love), that presents a clear path for the future for Lauv to let loose, free himself of his inhibitions and enjoy the process without giving in to his hang ups.
Before then, closer First Grade brings the journey full circle and sees him emerge reborn.
If ‘How I’m Feeling’ was Lauv trying to make a pop record, ‘All 4 Nothing’ sees him take the reins and deliver his pop record; a statement album that speaks to who he is beyond his stage persona and brings him closer to his fans than ever before.
It’s a necessary step in his career and one that paves the way for a liberating new era, in which Lauv embraces all aspects of his identity and channels them into his music, for what’s surely his most authentic release yet.
‘All 4 Nothing’ is available now.
