Alt. pop outfit Lost Stars had no idea how relevant the title of their latest short album was going to be in the year 2020. 

While it’s clear the sentiment was ultimately meant to evoke personal turmoil rather than global strife, it doesn’t make This Year’s Gonna Hurt any less relevant.

This revival of the now-antiquated musical categorization of “emo” music through sleekly produced pop rock is one of my favorite recent resurgences, and Lost Stars is a rising act in this comeback. They walk the line between alternative pop/rock groups like LANY and Nightly and something I’m not sure is completely intentional: conversational, modern country pop. 

They are also similar to acts like LANY in the fact that their music’s message is refreshingly earnest, and for lack of a better descriptor, simple. In “All I Know” the thesis is:

“All I know is I don’t want you back / and you should’ve know I don’t love like that.” 

Everyone can relate to this sentiment and sometimes explicit statements like these, when said well, are more resonant than below-the-surface, cryptic words the listener may not have the strength to sift through and dig up.

The entirety of the record contains universally felt laments about relationships, but in a way that ironically makes you forget your troubles. For instance, the chorus of “I Don’t Know You Anymore” is such a catchy melody the listener can almost choose their own experience: they can either bemoan the sentiment of a familiar face becoming a complete stranger or roll down their windows and bask in blissful ignorance of the song’s true meaning. 

“Obvious” is another standout: a sultry, mid-tempo, pulling-back-the-curtain song about the palpably transparent tension between two people. 

This Year’s Gonna Hurt concludes with its title track about how falling out of love doesn’t get any easier. The extended metaphor of being frozen by someone’s touch (frozen in a season, in a time, in a place) and thawing out being a patient process resonates and encapsulates the whole of the record quite nicely. 

This revival in the alternative/pop/rock boy bands of late is similar to the one we’re seeing in female pop: a somber, emotive message, masked by up-beat pop production.

While I wish some of the songs were stronger lyrically—some have a mix of solid thoughts with throw-away, generic lines—it’s almost not necessary to connect with the feeling of these songs.

This year’s gonna hurt, and has hurt already, but Lost Stars’ new, short record can help you keep moving through heartbreak—whether it be personal or ubiquitous. 

You can stream This Year’s Gonna Hurt on Spotify.