Album by Ekkstacy
Ekkstacy captures the emotional whiplash of young love. It’s full of contradictions, constantly bouncing between dream pop, post-punk, indie rock, shoegaze, and alternative pop while its characters swing wildly between infatuation, obsession, loneliness, regret, and the hope that maybe the next relationship will finally be different.
“I Don’t Have One of Those” is built on shimmering dream-pop guitars that recall The Smiths. It somehow manages to sound nostalgic, romantic, and devastating all at once. Like “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” it understands that love can feel both beautiful and doomed from the very beginning.
“Luv of My Life” tears that calm apart, replacing wistfulness with obsession. Throughout the album, Ekkstacy repeatedly alternates between these two emotional extremes, making the sequencing feel almost psychological.
“…alright,” featuring The Kid LAROI, pushes furthest toward mainstream alternative pop without sacrificing the album’s emotional core. The bouncing guitars and infectious chorus wrap jealousy, mixed signals, and the inability to let go of an ex inside what could easily become a radio hit.
“Bella” perfectly blends the album’s two personalities, layering fuzzy guitars over an irresistibly smooth indie-pop groove while capturing the physical and emotional spiral of being invisible to someone who captures your attention.
“Problems” strips much of the production away, allowing acoustic guitar and restrained electronics to create one of the album’s most intimate moments of regret, while “Get Me Out” drifts toward shoegaze as depression begins swallowing the melodies.
The closing stretch may be the album’s strongest. “Chicago” wraps thick, fuzzy guitars and driving drums around what initially sounds like the possibility of finding someone new. But there’s already an emptiness underneath it, as if part of you knows this relationship probably isn’t going to save you either.
“The Headless Horseman Lost His Way” sinks further into regret and self-destruction before “I Can’t Find Anyone” returns to some of the lightest, catchiest music on the record while reaching its bleakest emotional point. Loneliness, lost love, and not even wanting to be yourself anymore arrive over guitars and drums that practically prance along.
It’s a perfect contradiction for an album that keeps repeating the same emotional cycle.
That push and pull is what made Ekkstacy such a compelling listen. The music often feels euphoric while the lyrics document cycles of longing, lust, regret, and self-destruction.
Fall for someone. Lose them. Obsess over them. Regret what happened. Feel alone. Find someone else and hope this time will be different.
Then start all over again.
Sometimes the best heartbreak records don’t just tell you how someone feels. They make you feel the instability yourself.
Verdict: Solid
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