mylenvee

'NEARLY DAFFODILS' is hands down the best song on this album. Call me biased because I love daffodils, but also the hook is undeniable. In literature and culture, daffodils symbolize spring, rebirth, and the promise of success. By repeating “nearly” and “presque,” Lily Fontaine emphasizes the cruelty of proximity. This song becomes an anthem for unfinished business and unrealized potential. Not failure, but almost success.

'IN MY LIFE' is hands down the best song on this album. It is considered one of the greatest songs ever written! As much as I'd love to pick a deeper cut, I can't ignore that fact. The nostalgia it triggers is uncanny. However, it doesn't glorify the past at the expense of the present. Like, as much as this song reminds me of my youth, it feels more like a love letter to the people in my adulthood. Memory is not just about looking back but recognizing who matters most.

'HIGHER GROUND' is hands down the best song on this album. I feel like I have always known this song, probably through movies or cultural osmosis, but it has always registered to me as political even before I understood why. Stevie calls out people who are sleepwalking through life. Stop wasting time. It is not about waiting for the afterlife to fix things. It is about raising your moral and spiritual standards RIGHT NOW.

'HOPE' is hands down the best song on this album. It is the longest track, nearly 8 mins, and maybe I do love it partly because it is long, but more than that, every second of those 8 mins feels earned. The title sounds optimistic, almost misleadingly so, because the song is actually about the death of hope and why that death can be a mercy. When hope finally “lets you go,” there is relief. The quiet, exhausted kind that comes after you have fought long enough.