Picturesque’s album, Do you feel O.K? was released in 2020, yet when I found this album four years later, it struck a chord within me.
Each song seems to have its own story and unique beats. With every passing lyric and harmony you feel it tug at the heartstrings, ultimately changing your emotions and mood to feel for the person the song is about. The singer’s voice carries the story he needs to tell, his high pitched raspy voice hanging onto every word.
Every song that is about heartbreak, it’s as though you’re on the ground picking up each piece of the person’s heart, seeing each memory and story. I’ll be taking a deep-dive into the one song that resonated with me the most, however the whole album itself is breathtaking.
One of the more popular songs from this album was “Holding Me Down,” which was the first song I listened to. It popped up in my suggested songs, and after listening to it, the unique and meaningful purpose to the song inspired me to review the album as a whole. Being so intrigued with the song I needed to know what it was about, so I read an article in New Noise Magazine. It said that “Holding Me Down” is about late night hangouts with the wrong person and when doing this, it will hold you back in every way.
At the beginning it sounds like the scratching of records, or a tv glitching and not working. It brings to mind alien UFOs. The drums are this sync beat that is dramatic yet perfect and then every few seconds a cymbal hits over the vocals.
Right when the chorus is about to come up it does this pause then the tone changes after this big hit on the drums. Overall the sound of the music gets louder. His voice is loud and raspy as he carries out the “yo–ooouuu.” Then after the chorus he does this jolt and you can tell he does it even through this singing like he holds his breath dangerously. He then changes his voice to this kind of high pitched voice. He’s understanding his addiction of seeing this person toward the end.
The lyrics are a harmony. The singer describes it like an addiction you can’t stop, which is horrible the way it makes the person feel empty after a while. They get a feeling from it though. It seems perfect but it’s truly not.
The chorus is about trying to escape from being held down by a person mentally. The singer makes you feel how badly he is trying to get away through the urge of his voice, but the person holding him down won’t let him get away. You feel tied to this person, absorbing how he’s hurting. He’s unable to just move on. It’s this thing that’s unholy almost. He’s breaking himself down trying to get them to let him go. This person is like stealing his thoughts and emotions from him like it’s a normal thing it does. It’s playing games with his mind.
The main focus is in this bedroom where the images are sharp and clear. He shows what he’s going through seeing this person and then like his “withdrawals” he’s not seeing them. At one point toward the end, he’s shaking with a towel over his forehead, like common drug withdrawal symptoms. It goes from him singing back to his memories of him with this person.
By the time this song ended I surely was mad, but the lyrics stuck in my brain as a remembrance until the next time the song landed once again played. This song was so captivating in every way possible with the drums, the lyrics and even the visuals. The whole rest of the album only captures even more of this band’s talents.
For another perspective on this album check out this review on New Noise Magazine.
Want to check out the whole album? See a brief summary of each song below.
“Necessary”
Is about a girl he liked but she didn’t truly like him and he tried and tried to get her to stay.
“Swipe”
Is about a girl who lies and is fake to him just for the attention and he can’t stop wanting her.
“Crimes”
Is about him thinking about all the bad things he’s done and he can’t make them go away
“O.K?”
Is about people always asking him if he’s okay while he hates who he is and how he looks.
“Glass House”
Is about having habits that are self-destructing.
“Pray”
Is about when this girl left he doesn’t think anything will get better and doesn’t know how to live without her and move on.
“Say it like you mean it”
I think it is about how an addiction can set you off track and ruin things.
“Day by day”
This girl is broken by a struggle and he just wants to help her and make her better.
“ATTN”
Is about this girl who is hanging out with a guy and he is trying to let her down that he doesn’t like her.
“Prisoner”
Is about a true story of being spied on and being paranoid about it all the time.
