After being dropped by her original record label at 16 years old, going through a public breakup this past year, and having recently been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, 21-year-old Madison Beer has a lot to spill on her first debut album. “Life Support” is a concept album in the loosest sense. The album shows how Beer is more in touch with her emotions because of her recent diagnosis.
The album’s opener, “The Beginning” shows off the singer’s hauntingly beautiful vocals. This track sets the tone for the rest of the album: chilling, beautiful and raw. The intro led into the album’s lead single, “Good in Goodbye,” an R&B inspired track that says goodbye to a toxic lover. The song continues the same vocals shown in the intro, but lyrically explains that Beer is no longer willing to stay in a toxic relationship.
“Blue” is, in terms of lyricism, the strongest track on the album, in my opinion. The melodies are captivating and the lyrics create a sort of beautiful emptiness. They sound deep, but don’t fully add substance to the song. “Everything Happens for a Reason,” starts out with Beer’s angelic, soft vocals accompanied by pastoral strings. This track has a reflective tone to it as Beer tries to find a reason why her partner would want to cause her deep emotional pain.
Unlike most of the album, “Boysh*t” and “Baby” are upbeat pop tracks that prove Beer’s growth in her confidence and self-love. “Boysh*t” reflects on an immature lover that Beer no longer has the time or energy for. This person keeps trying to come back, and even though she finds it tempting to go back to him, she stops herself. “Baby” is a sex-positive track that shows off Beer’s body confidence in the line, “If you wanna be my baby/ Know I’m gonna drive you mad/ Probably gonna call me crazy/ I’m the best you ever had.”
“Homesick” brings one of the albums quieter moments. It’s a calm and introspective acoustic ballad with fewer of the bigger production moves that precedes it. The song also includes a cameo by Rick and Morty.
One of the albums tracks is notable from its TikTok popularity, “Selfish,” describes Beer trying to change the person she’s dating. The lyrics, “Shouldn’t love you, but I couldn’t help it/ Had a feeling that you never felt it/ I always knew that you were too damn selfish,” show the hurt Beer went through during this relationship, but she has finally overcome it.
The last track called “Channel Surfing/The End,” visits each song on the album as if they were TV channels. The idea for the song is nice in theory, but the execution didn’t add any satisfactory cap on the album.
Beer was open, vulnerable, and honest on “Life Support” and shows her individuality. She was open about her personal struggles, but the album wasn’t aggressively sad. I don’t think this album will rise above other projects throughout her career, but it’s a nice steppingstone to a body of work that will be memorable and meaningful.