Origami Angel’s “The Brightest Days” [Review]

I’ve definitely seen Origami Angel pop up in my recommendations at one point or another. Their debut studio album “Somewhere City” has become a modern emo staple. And yet, it was only last month when I actually decided to take a listen to their music. I started out with their most recent release, and I listened to that mixtape so much over the next few days that I got sick of it.

Releasing on June 16th, 2023, Origami Angel’s “The Brightest Days” debuted with high praise.

“The Brightest Days” is a bit of a unique project. The band decided to call it a mixtape as opposed to an EP or an album because of how different each track is from each other. Clocking in at only 22 minutes, it’s a bit short for an album, but with eight tracks, it’s a bit long for an EP. Calling it a mixtape makes sense because it’s got a little of everything. While the band is known for their midwest-emo/pop-punk feel, singer/guitarist Ryland Heagy has gone on to describe the band as “fifth wave emo” and “second wave easycore”, something that’s very apparent in this mixtape. There’s a mix of ska, bossa nova, and surfer rock.

Starting off is the title track “The Brightest Days”. Immediately if you’re a fan of the band, you’re thrown for a bit of a loop. The track begins with the sounds of waves crashing on the beach and the ocean breeze blowing. A ukulele paired with a chorus of voices singing a bright sunshiny tune isn’t something you expect to hear when you want to listen to an emo band, and yet somehow it works. It only takes a minute before the first verse ends and explodes into one of the dirtiest hard rock riffs you’ll ever hear. It’s a wild surf-rock track that’s all about reminiscing about what it’s like to have youthful joy and how even on the best of days, it won’t amount to what the best days were.

The first single off the mixtape was “Thank You, New Jersey”. It’s a surf-rock track that takes a traditional “California beach summer” and applies that to something like the Jersey Shore and Atlantic City. Myself being from New York, the hustle and bustle of everyday living is nothing compared to how “slow” things feel as they do on a beach in California or Florida. With private beach property, overcrowding, and just the whole kind of depressing northeast feel, Jersey really brings you down to earth. Compared to the last track, this one starts off with some intense guitars and drums but then during the second verse, you encounter that iconic old-school surf rock that then devolves into a slow, almost ballad-like acoustic bridge. It’s incredibly unique and a super fun take on the emo genre.

“Picture Frame” has a super unique back and forth with more of an acoustic feeling guitar during the verses that just burst into the harsh emo rock guitars. This song is an ode to the summer of 2020 when Heagy had spent a lot of time at home and asleep due to the ongoing pandemic as well as some medical issues he was facing. He made a point of sounding somewhat asleep on this track as a way to pay homage to those days. The band even had to speed up the tempo a bit during the verses because it was a bit too slow. This track also ends with a super cool riff that bleeds into the next one on the mixtape.

I hadn’t heard the term before, but “Kobayashi Maru” is a Star Trek reference. The “Kobayashi Maru” is a spaceship from a training exercise in the film “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”. It’s an exercise to help cadets decide to rescue the spaceship that has been damaged, but if they decide to attempt a rescue, they’ll be attacked by enemies. It’s a no-win scenario and has cemented itself in pop culture when referring to something that’s lose-lose. The song itself, “Kobayashi Maru (My Very Own)”, is probably the most in-your-face song on the record. While the lyrics are a self-deprecating mess of feeling like you’re not contributing to society and feeling useless, the instruments are the opposite. With the fastest tempo on the record, upbeat vocalizing, a ska interlude, and a breakdown at the end, it’s a joy to listen to and so much fun to head-bang and sing along to.

Leading into the second half of the mixtape, “Second Best Friend” slows things down a bit. Reminiscing what it was like to experience summer as a teen, Heagy reflects on what it was like being the third wheel. The track is the most pop/rock sounding on the record. The band is just showing off their prowess with the guitars and how well they’re able to play them.

The shortest track on this record, “Looking Out”, is an acoustic one that features a ukulele, Heagy’s vocals, and waves crashing on the shore. It’s a very beautiful track that helps break up how guitar-heavy the other songs on this mixtape have been. It’s a very whimsical track, with both the ukulele and vocals being recorded at the same time and no editing on them, it’s Heagy at his most pure and vulnerable. The final lines “But I’ll keep looking out for you, As long as you’d expect me to, With one eye glued to the road, And the other trying to find some drive” really hit home.

“My PG County Summer” was the second and final single to be released for this mixtape. Immediately off the heels of the previous track, this one hits you with some of the most intense metal-sounding drums and guitars. The band’s hometown, Washington D.C., is the capital of the U.S.. Being from such a place means that while they grew up, the band saw people with “hate in their heart” protesting and marching throughout the city. This track probably has the best usage of synths on the record, along with some great guitar riffs. The bridge is probably one of the best on the project too.

Closing out the mixtape is “Few and Far Between”. With an incredible guitar solo halfway through the track and just solid guitar and drums all around, this track is the longest one on the record. Everything has been building up to this song and it delivers. The song, and this mixtape as well, has been all about looking back at the brightest days of years gone by. In the present, those bright sunny days are getting further and further apart. Whether those days are hidden by dark clouds and pouring rain, or just a slightly overcast sky, those stretches of blue sky are just out of arm’s reach. Immediately after the instrumental break, the guitars fade out and we’re left with a bunch of layered vocals and a ukulele. Slowly peeling back some of the vocals until just one voice is left singing the first words we heard during the title track over crashing waves. It’s one of the most powerful endings I’ve heard at the end of a record and an outstanding way to close out a project.

Final Thoughts

Origami Angel has really cemented themselves as a part of the modern emo scene and has only gotten better and better with their recent projects. Recording something so unique featuring ukuleles and creating “surfer-emo” is just something you’d never expect from a band and yet it works. It’s an outstanding mixtape and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Reference:
Flood Magazine: Origami Angel Take Us Through Their Summer-y The Brightest Days Mixtape

Album Score: 8/10
Favorite Tracks: “Kobayashi Maru (My Very Own)”, “Few and Far Between”