The Heartbreakers Forum
IssyWOO4life : It’s me again. We just had a new Isaiah album drop, Paradise . I thought I would do a track list explanation after my first listen, like I did when Isaiah came out. You’re welcome.
You People
Love + Attention
Paradise
POV
Haunted House
Left Behind
6022
Paris
Shouting In The Rain
Dancing Underwater
This Is How It Starts
Explanation:
Track 1 : You People. ‘Houses along the snow-white banks of streets/ The same streets that will be drowned in orange leaves come autumn’ . A poem by Eden Elliot. It is exquisite, sad and sharp. It talks about so-called good people watching evil unfold and doing nothing. Social commentary wrapped up in a fall aesthetic. Ten out of ten.
Track 2 : Love +Attention. ‘What do you recommend for a heart as broken as hers?/ Lots of love and attention/ Which I will give to you/ Until we die.’ So cute I died.
Track 3 : Paradise . ‘Your dad calls you Paradise/ You are where saints go to die’. If you know anything about the backstory of Isaiah Pan, this song will rip you to pieces. If not, it is just a gorgeous piece that will make you long for something so beautiful you can’t stand it. Music and lyrics by Isaiah. Why don’t you just kill us, sir, and be done with it ?
Track 4 : POV. It describes Paris as seen through the eyes of a cat. She sees things from below, like the heels of shoes on paved streets, then from terraces: chimneys, cafes, stars, a view of the Eiffel Tower no one has ever seen . I think the lost/stray cat symbolizes a lost/stray kid: ‘It might have been a stray cat or a stray boy or a girl/ People somebody misplaced and no body was found’.
Track 5: Haunted House. Another Eden Elliot poem. The lyrics are so beautiful and the music so haunting, it stays with you for long after it’s stopped playing. And it was just my first listen. I think I will put it on and cry and cry.
Track 6 : Left Behind. This one is about the childhood fear of always being left behind. I think it includes some hints at religious trauma too—must look into it further. Too deep for an explanation on just a first listen. The music cut me.
Track 7 : 6022 . ‘Instead of the thorn there will be evergreen/ myrtle instead of briers’. This song is Saint Hope , but on steroids. It will break you and heal you in the span of four minutes. Not surprising it hasn’t left the number 1 spot in the charts since it came out as a single, months ago. And it’s not coming down anytime soon.
Track 8 : Paris . If you were at the first Paris show last spring, that’s it. That’s the song. Lyrics by Isaiah and Eden, music by James Pan. Lethal combination. No mercy.
Track 9 : Shouting In The Rain . I think this song is about the things people do when they are in love. Lyrics and music by Isaiah as well for this one. What is that boy doing? Where does he find the time ? It’s simple, catchy, and full of cinematic moments. Can’t wait for the music video to this one. Hats off, Mr. Pan. Destroy us.
Track 10 : Dancing Underwater. This is a song about healing. It clearly references the girl who is drowning in the Pierce Me music video several times. But in this song, she has been rescued. She safe and happy. This song absolutely melted me and I was a mess for days afterwards. Never listening to it again, at least not sober. Side note: I love the continued lore between Isaiah’s songs. I love how interwoven they are between his different albums, how the story continues, changes, evolves with him.
Track 11 : This Is How It Starts . ‘ This is how it ends/ With you learning the steps to my favorite dance.’ I for one wish this album never ended. Not a single skip in the whole thing. I am flabbergasted. And I have the sneaking suspicion that we have seen nothing yet. The final phrase in the song and the album: ‘I would say this is how it ends, but nothing has ended/ not for us, baby./ This is the pink dawn over the treetops./ This is the first brown leaf of October/ This is the first snowflake in January./ This is how it begins.’