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Springs’ “The Apple Tree Under The Sea” is her first debut album, released Friday, February 13th, where she explores how her childhood in a Nigerian-Christian household had negative effects on her perceptions of love, socializing, and growing her independence as an adult.
Although the album is receiving more media attention than her initial EP, Springs is suggesting that her work should remain niche and separated from the mainstream music industry.
Featuring ten tracks that use terminology from biblical events and names, the album connects religious themes to her lived experience to make independence in adulthood a symbol of a sacred, purifying moment.
The album begins with “the red apple”, where Springs references the creation narrative of Adam and Eve to describe her pursuit of knowledge and morality outside of her childhood influences.
The progression of the broken, light synth chords with seamless ascension and descension have a vague cathedral aura, fitting into the religious themes that are central to the album’s sound and story.
Track two, “the beginning of the end”, presents the listener with the existentialist thoughts that Springs had dealt with while developing her individuality, to which she says to anyone trying to manipulate her mind “But if you want to make me blow/I wish you would go.”
The shift from the electric guitar and distorted punk instrumentals during verses and the bridge into the strums of the ukulele blended with spaced bass boosts in the chorus let the listener see both the defensive, hardened side and softer, empathetic sides of Hemlocke Springs.
Track three, “head, shoulders, knees and ankles”, is a stalker narrative about idealizing a life with someone you are infatuated with.
The first two minutes feature electronic drums and bass that reflect the intensity of emotions from secretly watching a love interest being scandalous, with an emotional piano sequence that shifts to Springs creating scenarios in her head about the ideal life with the person she is stalking.
The ending piano interlude has a yearning tone that reflects jealousy and desire to be loved by someone.
Track four, “w-w-w-w-w”, reflects Springs’ views of arranged marriages, where she creates a scene of a breakfast on Sunday morning to show how depressive and unhappy she would be in that situation: “And I can’t even fathom/Waking up the man on Sunday morning/Cooking him some breakfast, brewing coffee/Why would she do that when he’s already got one foot in the grave/And already bought a child to enslave?/Ha, he’s seventy-three, yeah, his soul is astray.”
Springs combines electronic drums and symbol crashes with muffled xylophone taps to create a beat that is percussive and impactful, reinforcing the solidified nature of her stances against arranged child marriages that happen in conservative-Christian Nigerian culture.
Track five, “moses”, is a powerful inspirational anthem for both Springs herself and the audience, encouraging them with her own biblical connections with Moses through splitting her own metaphorical Red Sea and pushing through life on her own terms. The combination of synths and the drum pad sequence is cyclical, similar to electronic dance and house music genres.
Track six, “sever the blight”, tells the story of a woman who is entrapped in a basement by her abusive husband, who manages to escape with the help of her newfound female lover.
The incorporation of violin riffs and an airy synth reflect the fairy tale nature of the lyrics and the accompanying music video, where a damsel in distress can always count on her fellow woman to save the day and sweep her off her feet.
In a TikTok from May 2023, Springs provides the contexts for her various inspirations in creating both the music video and the song, where she states her Black identity, the predatory and voyeuristic nature of men, and the alleged original intent of The Little Mermaid being catered to the author’s gay lover.
“I think that reflects in the video where it’s Lady Lyria that I’m looking for.”
Tracks seven and eight, “sense is (prelude)” and “sense(is)”, reflect Springs’ growing need for independence and freedom from the ideas and thoughts of others, including her family.
The prelude is a harp strumming sequence with faint choir melodies and the voice of a street preacher with a megaphone condemning people to Hell, which then leads into the main track, where synths and abrupt, impactful drum beats accompany lyrics that show how Springs had to refill and rejuvenate herself, hence the lines “Found an empty cup, and I filled it up…Made the weakest want an antidote.”
Track nine, “set me free”, is Springs making the plea to a love interest to set each other free, which is a reference to engaging in intimate romance with one another. The xylophone taps, hand claps, and the fading keyboard riff towards the end represent Spring’s ability to engage in romance while still knowing who she is and her connections to her Christian-Nigerian roots.
The tenth and final track, “be the girl”, cycles back to the beginning of the album, where Springs is using her newfound freedom and further-developed self to forge her own path and learn to quickly heal from relationships that don’t also prioritize her needs. The synth progresses to become more fast-paced and loud as the song reaches its end, reflecting the journey being expressed throughout the album’s story.
Rating: 10/10
Main Attractors: The album is the second half of Springs’ overall journey to become an independent adult who has their own morals and ideas. She doesn’t try to separate herself from her roots, but she embraces the themes and narratives of them to tell her story.
Main Detractors: There is still a focus on romance for most of the tracks on the album, but Springs’ growth as a person is still made prominent and remains part of the album’s main story.
Sources for additional information used: https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-the-apple-tree-under
