hot Chelle Rae members (Ryan, Jamie and Nash) have made their comeback in the music scene releasing new music since Hung Up and Don’t Say Goodnight, both released in 2013 and 2014 respectively. However, their previous albums (Lovesick Electric and Whatever) date from 2009 and 2011, so it is quite reasonable we all are so excited about the new EP: Tangerine.
They started by being active on Instagram, where they posted a feed with them and their logo. They began to interact more with fans, dropping off hints about new music and videos of them in the studio. Eventually, we could also listen to several sneak peaks of what were going to be their new songs. Since early November until late March, four out of five songs of the EP were released, with one of them left as a surprise.
The album consists of 5 songs describing different stages in a relationship. The first one is I Hate LA, in which he talks about how a girl has destroyed the whole city of Los Angeles when she left him. However, he falls in love with the city again once he hears she has moved away.
The second one is called Too Much. He is destroyed because of her, but he can’t stop thinking of her. He is stuck in a spiral (I know if I’m up at 3 AM / I’ll just end up texting you again / I can’t keep myself from spiraling / Pass out wake up do it all again), so all of his days are basically the same, more when he realizes that she acts as if she didn’t know him at all.
In the third song, Stay, he begs her to stay, trying to convince her that they still are quite similar and that they work out well (Our minds work the same way / And if you like, you don’t have to go home). He feels sad about sleeping alone and is sure that her presence would comfort him when he can’t comfort himself.
The fourth song, Tomorrow Me, is about having a night to forget all the pain and doing things the sober you knows are wrong and you will probably regret them. He plans about drinking as much as he can, spending as much as he can and, why not, end up texting his exes. All the problems he has had with the girl he was in love with will be for the “tomorrow me”.
The EP ends with a pretty positive song, Tangerine. It wraps up the whole story about a girl leaving a guy and him going through all the stages of grief. He realizes that she is all the he needs, and whatever she does (Tangerine, you don’t even know my middle name / But you got all of your clothes up in my closet space), there is no way he can fall out of love with her (Tangerine, you don’t call, you show up out the blue / I could try all I want but can’t get mad at you).
The whole album is a journey to enjoy for 15 minutes, and fans have loved it all over the world. Hot Chelle Rae have had to cancel their North American tour due to COVID-19, but Ryan has said that although it made him feel down, he is “really excited to get back in the studio and make new music and make things exciting for the fall.” So we can expect nothing but surprises and more amazing music from the Nashville trio.
