Album Review: Only Child by Sasha Sloan - A Playlist of Sorrow, Cynicism, and Dark Humor

Source: Google 

 

Sasha Sloan is known for her co-writes and featured vocals on some famous pop songs, but after her debut album ‘Only Child’ came out, she claimed her stage. The album showcases exactly what Sasha excels at – sad songs. 

 

Introduction 

 

Album: Only Child 

Artist: Sasha Alex Sloan 

Release: October 16, 2020

Genre: Indie, Pop 

 

About the Album 

 

The ‘Only Child’ album consists of 10 songs. This collection is fit for those who listen to indie and acoustic music. 

 

Through her honest lyrics, Sloan expresses the feelings and experiences that she faces in her life. It shows the complications of growing up in a society that focused on physical appearance and human connection. This album exhibits not only sad girl pop but something more emotionally mature.

 

About the Artist 

 

Sasha Alex Sloan was born on 11 March 1995 in Massachusetts, US. She is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut album is Only Child and her second studio album I Blame the World was released on May 13, 2022.

 

At the age of nineteen, she pursued a career as a songwriter. Sloan made her US national TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 6, 2019.

 

Album Review 

 

I love to listen to music! If it’s her then without a doubt I click on the play button. The way Sasha writes the song is so beautiful! Most of her songs are like storytelling. The melody in it makes me sing along. Her lyrics touch my heart and I relate to them too. 

 

So here are my thoughts on her album:

 

Matter to You

“The world's so big and I'm so small

The ocean's deep as the sky is tall

Sometimes I feel like I'm nobody at all

But you make me feel like I'm someone, you do

'Cause I know I'm someone to you”

 

The loneliness in a big world can make you feel like you are not important to anyone. At times, you may feel insignificant and small but someone’s presence can change it into something opposite. 

 

Some people can give meaning to your life. Love can make you feel the same that your life mattered to another person a lot. Not only with your lover but you can feel these things with your friends, siblings or even parents. Some hope can make you a better person.

 

Only Child 

 

I have grown up a single child so I know how it feels to not have a sibling. Whenever I go to my friends’ house, I got jealous of how they fight with each other because I never had one. I envied watching how they share their secrets and stuff like that. And yes sometimes it gets lonely too. 

 

Everyone has a dream, like if I had a sister or a brother I would do this. Sasha also has one so she expresses that:

 

“If I had a sister, I might be with her

Out at a bar, talking 'bout a broken heart

If she was married, it'd make me happy

I'd be by her side, she'd make a beautiful bride

 

If I had a brother, a little bit younger

He might act tough, every time I fell in love

Yeah, he would be taller and help with our father

When we got old, I wouldn't have to do it alone”

 

House With No Mirror 

 

“If I lived in a house with no mirrors

Where the walls didn't talk back at me

Maybe I'd dream a bit bigger

If there was nothin' to see”

 

You may agree with me that your mood depends on how you look. If I am not satisfied with how I am looking, I will not be comfortable doing anything or having fun. Many people ruin their life by thinking about how they look or how others see them. 

 

This song explores the hypothetical situation of living without acknowledging your physical appearance. Sasha says if there was no mirror in the house, then life would have been a little better. She would not have spent an hour choosing her dress for a party.

 

Until It Happens To You

 

“Somebody loses their somebody every day

But you'll never really know what it's like

 'Til you wake up to some real bad news

 You'll never really know how it feels

 'Til it happens to you”

 

This song tells us that if you are not wearing the same shoes then you don’t know what is happening in others' life. Until it happens to you, you don’t know what struggles and problems other people are facing. You can be there for that person but you can’t say that you feel them until you have experienced the same. 

 

This happens to me also. I have heard much bad news and attendant funerals but when I lost my grandpa then I realize what it feels like to lose someone so close. And sometimes other sympathies can’t console you.

 

Santa’s Real 

 

“When I would go to sleep, I'd always say, "Mom

 Keep the door open, and please leave the light on"

 'Cause I thought monsters lived under the bed

 That's before I knew they walk the streets instead”

 

This song wants you to be naive again, and go to a place of innocence. Sasha also wants to believe that the things that she thought were real as a kid existed but magic and those feelings fade away as you grow. 

From your childhood only, your parents have protected you from this world. But when you face reality, you just want to come out from it and want to see a better world.

 

The Bottom Line 

The above songs which I mentioned are my favorite. But apart from that, there are five more songs that I also like: Hypochondriac, Is it just me, Someone you hate, Lie, and High school me. 

 

I like each song of her! If you are into sad songs, you must listen to them. 

 

My Rating: 4.5/5

Listen: Spotify 

  

Written by – Vipasha 

Edited by - Kritika Sharma