“But we’re going to love again/on the other side,” Indigo de Souza sings on “Time Back,” the first song of her new album. Released on April 28, 2023, “All of This Will End” serves as a sort of sophomore album for the Brazilian-American singer songwriter as she begins to find her voice, despite being her third after releasing “I Love My Mom” and “Any Shape You Take” back to back in 2021. De Souza shifts from self-questioning bedroom pop to self-assured synths, finding her footing after the tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic. The album explores finding a balance between struggling in the past and living in the present, and the title refers to the ephemerality of the human condition.
A story of anger and eventual acceptance, the album displays de Souza’s range as an artist. The first song, “Time Back,” contrats lilting lyrics against grating electronic melodies before collapsing into an echo-y outro, ending with de Souza’s whispered promise: “I’ve been speaking death/when I come home again/I will begin again.” She speaks of an emotional rebirth and taking back control of her life, introducing a theme continued throughout the album.
The album cover was painted by her mother, emphasizing de Souza’s messaging of surrounding oneself with positive influences.
The album cover was painted by her mother, emphasizing de Souza’s messaging of surrounding oneself with positive influences. While in past works, she reveals a self-sacrificing nature, now de Souza stands up for herself in “You Can Be Mean” written about an abusive relationship, crooning “thank you for being polite/but, babe, I think we’re already past that.” De Souza doesn’t sugarcoat her words, but speaks with a sense of wisdom gained only from making mistakes.
She creates vivid scenes that evoke a sense of deja vu in their relatability, like “In the parking lot I feel like I am losing touch/and the shopping carts keep rolling, barely holding up” in “Parking Lot.” Both the scene and the exhuastion behind them are in contrast from the song’s upbeat rhythm. Her lyrics are cuttingly honest – “I eat too much when I’m lonely/I bury everything” in “Smog,” or “And I’m not sure what is wrong with me/but it’s probably just hard to be a person feeling anything” in “Parking Lot.”
“Losing” represents the process she went through to reach this artistic rebirth, singing “all my friends are leaving,” as bandmates Owen Stone and Jake Lenderman left her band, possibly contributing to the stylistic shift. And in the titular song, “All of This Will End,” the music begins to slow down and becomes more reflective, with lines “nobody hears me, now I’m talking to myself” and “I don’t have answers, no one does/I’ve been finding comfort in that.”
And in the titular song, “All of This Will End,” the music begins to slow down and becomes more reflective, with lines “nobody hears me, now I’m talking to myself” and “I don’t have answers, no one does/I’ve been finding comfort in that.”
Her growth as an artist and a person is evident in the parallel lyrics with earlier songs. While pleading, “I want to believe you’ve got a good heart” in “I Love My Mom”’s “Good Heart”, she now realizes “I’d like to thing you’ve got a good heart and your dad was just an [explictive] growing up/but I don’t see you trying to be harder to be better than he is” in “You Can Be Mean.”
“Smog” is the closest to her usual lofi style, reminiscent of Car Seat Headrest’s “Bodys.” Other songs feel more strident, like “Time Back,” or “Wasting Your Time.” Both hold more abrasive textures which are a departure from her previous sounds, which comes off more sonically grating than previous songs. I preferred her earlier works, but the shift in tone does represent the emotionality behind the words, from hesitant whispers to sure, strong, assured tone.
“The Water,” with it’s electronic, strident sing-songing tone repeats, “I really love” over and over, signifying de Souza’s self love and radical acceptance. The album artfully captures how progress is not linear – that even when one has it figured out, there’s more to learn.
The last song, “Younger & Dumber” is a stripped back acoustic ballad, intimate and personal, an outlier in the louder, faster album.
The last song, “Younger & Dumber” is a stripped back acoustic ballad, intimate and personal, an outlier in the louder, faster album. While it’s unclear whether it was a deliberate choice to close off the album or indicative of a greater departure of style in the future, the quiet song’s contrast ended the album off with a sort of finality.
While the meaning behind the lyrics resonated with me, the changes in style made this an album that took a couple listens to enjoy. I give it 4 out of 5 overall.
