Anyone who keeps up-to-date with Halsey knows that they dropped a new album last year on August 27. The sound of this album is considerably different from their past albums and EPs. Their first few EPs and singles had a generally soft sound. They were gentle, but honest with genuine emotion in the lyrics. Their first album, BADLANDS, had a very upbeat sound. A very indie rock feel. Their second album, hopeless fountain kingdom, is a bit less aggressive and more honest and open about Halsey’s life and feelings. The album feels very pop rock and is much less aggressive than BADLANDS. Halsey’s third album, Manic, is almost a mix of their first two albums with a dash of electro pop feel. 

While all three of these albums are absolutely wonderful, the most recent Halsey era has the fandom in a chokehold. This album exudes confidence and coming to terms with oneself while also exposing the lies of what can happen in society and a household. Not only did they release If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power as an album, but also as a movie that tells the story of the album. Fun fact, Halsey wrote the movie themselves. If you are interested in seeing the movie or listening to the album but haven’t yet gotten the chance, I recommend you stop reading here to avoid spoilers.

The movie itself is confusing, but after reading the fandom Wiki, the movie is truly a work of wonder and the concept is absolutely wonderful, and the album is a whole new sound and my personal favorite thus far. This ERA (Halsey’s child’s initials spell ERA and this is how Halsey has referred to the era on their social medias) follows the story of Lila. Lila is a young queen of an unnamed kingdom.  Upon the opening of the movie, we find out that Lila’s husband, the king, is dead. This is also when we meet Lilith. Lilith seems to haunt Lila in mirrors and dreams, and appears only after the king dies. Lilith in most cultures is a she-demon responsible for death, disease, illness, and sexual temptations, however, Lila is widely known as the goddess of beauty and creation. It seems appropriate that Lilith would appear in the king’s death, and more appropriate that she would follow Lila.

Following the king’s death and the court’s discussion of who should take over the throne, there are four cuts to different scenes. First to Lila being prepared for an unknown event. Second to the king’s funeral where Lila reveals a bruise the king left on her. Third to Lilith hovering over Lila then stabbing her in the stomach. Then Fourth to Lila waking from her nightmare and peeing on seeds as a sort of pregnancy test. Lila still sees Lilith in the mirror so she decides to go to a bathhouse to relax, but she can’t escape Lilith. 

In my opinion, the most iconic part of the movie occurs next. Lila gathers some of her friends to celebrate the king’s death, and the group gets very drunk and completely tears apart the village. After drunkenly wandering, Lila stumbles upon a witches cabin. The witch frightens Lila and she stumbles back to the castle and up to her room only to be enraged that the seeds sprouted, meaning she’s pregnant. 

The movie flashes through Lila’s pregnancy until month nine when she’s put on trial. An Aristocrat decides Lila is a regular widow and since she killed the king, she’s to be beheaded. The truly most iconic things happen next. Lila runs away from the castle to have her baby in the witch’s cabin. Once she’s found, they bring her back. The clip from the beginning is Lila being prepared for her beheading. Right before she’s beheaded, we get a look inside Lila’s daydreams. We then snap back to reality and Lila laughs for no apparent reason before she’s beheaded.

Truly this is an era to top all other eras. Halsey has stepped up their game from the past, and it seems they intend to keep this energy throughout their tour. The movie was very interesting and had a good quality, the lyrics of the album are iconic, and the lore is out of this century. If you haven’t yet seen the film or listened to the album, I recommend you do so.