EDEN's "i think you think too much of me" [Review]

This is one of the few times where I can actually kind of pinpoint the day when I learned about this EP. It was back in 2016 when I first heard of EDEN because my cousin was ecstatic to show me a song that was simply titled “drugs”. Seeing as that song was released as a single in July of that year, it’s safe to say that I learned about EDEN in either July or August.

However, I’m pretty sure that I may have actually known EDEN under a different alias at the time, “The Eden Project”. Back in the day, I was a huge fan of Monstercat and I’m confident I heard “The Fire” by Puppet & The Eden Project around the time it was released.

Either way, I haven’t really listened to EDEN too much over the years, but I’ve picked up a few of his records along the way. In November of 2023 however, a re-release of “i think you think too much of me” on vinyl was planned and unfortunately the merchandising partner went bankrupt. Lucky for me, however, I was able to place an order on Astralwerks. That kind of spurred me to listen to this EP again and I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

Released on August 19^th, 2016, “i think you think too much of me” debuted with some pretty high praise, and charted in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

As stated before, I probably knew EDEN under the alias “The Eden Project” way back in the day. This EP is a bit special as it’s split up into two distinct parts, with the latter half being tracks that were released under that original alias. Each song in this first part of the EP is a part of one another in some way according to EDEN in an interview with USA Today. The first half can be summed up with the phrase “sex, drugs, and, rock + roll”.

The first song off this EP is probably the one that’s been stuck in my head the most and that would be “sex”, one of the most popular songs off this collection. I think Lorde put it best in a Facebook post.

“you managed to make it sound just as messy and emotional and twitchy and kind of in love and definitely freaked out as that situation feels” – Lorde

“sex” is a must listen. EDEN manages to make you feel anxious about being in love. There’s so much happening on this track. The percussion is solid with a drum line that captures you immediately. EDEN’s vocals compliment his music wonderfully and the distortion effect that is applied during the pre-chorus and bridge is pure ecstasy on the ears. EDEN’s ramblings perfectly capture every thought that runs through your head when you’re catching feelings for someone; is it just a friends-with-benefits thing, or is it something more? Many fans have speculated that the EP’s title is 8 of the 9 words that this track refers to and I’d like to think so too.

“drugs” was the second and final single before the EP came out officially, with its music video being released alongside the EP. To help promote the upcoming tour, people who bought the VIP package ended up receiving cardboard VR headsets in the mail in July of 2016. This ended up being for the upcoming music video for “drugs” which was made for VR.

While each song on this first side of the EP is heavily tied into one another, they all sound very different from one another. “drugs” has a somewhat desolate feeling compared to the more upbeat “sex”. It’s a song about being addicted to someone, and how their love and affection empowers you. The music video for this track takes this song in a bit of a different direction as it leads you to believe that the main character is trying to get some kind of drug, only for you to realize it’s for their terminally ill partner. There are so many ways to interpret this song and this music video too, but that’s kind of the beauty of EDEN.

The shortest song on this record is “and” which serves as a bit of a bridge between “drugs” and”rock+roll”. In an interview with New Times Broward-Palm Beach, EDEN reveals that while songs like “drugs” and “rock+roll” took a few revisions to get to the point where they’re now, “and” was written in a couple of days. Somehow “and” manages to feel even more sorrowful than “drugs”. “and” feels like short ramblings in a one-sided conversation. The song only consists of a few instruments up until the point where the lyrics cut out and all you’re left with is just some vocalizing and some very delicate synths. While the first two tracks were about falling in love and being in love, this track is more along the lines of falling out of love and moving on from past or current relationships and the struggles that come with that.

Closing out the A-side of this EP is “rock+roll”. With lyrical references to Jimi Hendrix, the guitar featured in this song is also played in a similar fashion to Hendrix’s music. That’s not the only reference in this song as much of it features dialogue from the 2003 film “Lost in Translation”. There are more lyrical references to “Frank Sinatra” and “The Rolling Stones”, but the big takeaway is the single line “I ain't scared of livin'”. This song is so emotionally charged, and the way the sample is played out is just incredible.

Starting off The B-side “Fumes” was originally released on January 1^st, 2015, and was featured on “Bipolar Paradise” from “The Eden Project”. While the other two songs under that moniker are mostly unchanged from their original debut, EDEN’s “Fumes” features guest vocals from “gnash”. gnash’s vocals are a welcome addition as previously that segment of the song was just instrumentals. While the song is distinctly EDEN, you can see that his music has grown quite a bit from where it was only a year ago. Much like “and”, this track is about falling out of love and trying to get out of a relationship. While it’s not great at the moment, and you can definitely find someone better out there, it’s enough for now.

EDEN’s most popular song under the “The Eden Project” alias (that wasn’t a cover) had to be “XO” and it’s still one of the most popular songs he’s ever released. In an interview with Sidewalk Talk, EDEN revealed that he was hesitant to initially release this track because it was more of an acoustic pop song as opposed to what he had been releasing prior which was more EDM-focused. It’s easy to see why this song is so popular, it’s a very laid-back acoustic track with subtle EDM influences. While the presents itself as a love story that’s gone sour, it’s more of a goodbye to a relationship that neither was too invested in.

Closing out the record is “Circles”, a song about growing up and falling out of touch with those that you’ve once loved. As you get older, life gets busier, and you find yourself reminiscing over the simpler times when you could just be with friends and family. With that signature melancholy guitar, EDEN perfectly closes out this record. As the track builds and builds up until the final verse where it just explodes, it perfectly captures what this EP is about, how messy love and relationships can be.

Final Thoughts

This EP is a weird one for me. I decided to write this and release this on the day I turn 27. I’m not sure why exactly, but ever since this EP has been on my mind, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. It’s an incredibly important EP in my life, one that I owe a lot to and has done so much for me. I’ve reached out to a lot of people from years gone by because of it and I listen to it every few weeks now. While I still listen to EDEN every now and then, I don’t think anything of his will be able to recapture the magic that this EP hit me with when I first heard it.

EP Score: 9/10
Favorite Track: “sex”

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