by Alyanna Moralda
Queen of Jeans’ All Again is a tribute to the kinetics of a relationship post break-up. The Philadelphia band, consisting of members, Miriam Devora (vocals, guitar, keys), Matheson Glass (lead guitar, piano), Patrick Wall (drums), and Andrew Nitz (bass, keys), explores the tribulations of heartbreak through an infectious indie rock sound consistent throughout their discography. The record’s cover art—two lovers holding each other, while one is dissipating through air, sets forth the tone for the group’s third LP.
The first track, “All My Friends” is off to a somber and vulnerable start, with Devora emphasizing the loneliness and yearning that lingers even in a crowded space, and around a support system. Its chorus is repetitive, almost as if the narrator is trying to reassure themselves of a future that is uncertain. Likewise, “Karaoke” extends on the grief personally, reciting a time when the narrator was self-sufficient, yet learned to accept help from their former lover. This eventually tumbled down, as the narrator had become intertwined with their counterpart just for their walls to be broken and built up again.
“Enough to Go Around” takes a haunting approach backed by acoustic guitars, with Devora describing how one’s love can be so vast, only for it to not be reciprocated to the same extent. “Books in Bed” recounts a slight nostalgic experience, reminiscing in an argument resulting in the shame after. Devora compares the emptiness of finishing a novel to the physical vacantness the narrator is experiencing, “Wishing that you were here instead. Turning pages until there's nothing left. Of all these books I've read. To fall asleep to dreams I won't regret.” If fiction isn’t enough to satisfy a broken heart, then surely our dreams can mend it.
Songs like “Go Down Easy” and “Last to Try” account for the last half of the album, displaying Devora’s self awareness of the narrator’s efforts into their former relationship. “Go Down Easy” elucidates the lengths the narrator would go to for their partner, but realizing that they wouldn’t fall into that pattern again. Likewise, “Last to Try” expands on the aforementioned and the recurring theme about placing too much of yourself onto an entity. Devora sings, “Who'll call it off, who'll say goodbye? (I'd find you there like I did back then) 'Cause you know I'd be the last one to try (I love our family, I love our friends) I'd be the last one to try (I think your heart keeps mine beating).” The backing vocals are almost an inner conflict the narrator is facing: a voice of reason and voice of emotion; tugging at the strings of the past and the future. All Again resembles the five stages of grief, with an exploration of mourning, understanding of self and a relationship in its fragments.