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HALFLIVES has done an incredible job of encapsulating the human experience in 2025. This EP is full of fire, rage, compassion, and acceptance, all the while being a mere five tracks long.
How Much A Heart Can Take Before It Breaks is a linear quest towards acceptance done in the most beautiful manner. Opening track Eat Sleep Work Die!!! Repeat begins with a motif of nursery rhymes, jovial until the lyrics take centre stage. Themes of letting dreams die and sleepwalking to the grave are the antithesis of playground songs. Frustration at the world cascades from the words to a melodic backdrop of frivolity. Unlike other songs about grievances, there is no key change, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. There is bravery in not apologising for having a bleak outlook on today’s society. The childlike undertones only fuel the frustration at what life is like now, childish hope and wonder are playing a losing game. This is the jingle to existence now.
That lightless tunnel only continues through the second track No Way Out. Opening with the line ‘Life is slipping through my fingertips’ holds so much sadness. The dulcet piano and full-bodied guitars are what lift this. There is a longing in the lyrics, they don’t want to feel so hopeless and trapped. Permanent Damage ironically is a turning point in the record. That old emo trope of romanticising the sadness when it’s paired with acceptance. The yearning becomes more apparent on this track ‘Wish I could feel alive’. And where there is yearning there is hope. This track is also one of the more introspective ones on the EP. The anger at the outside world takes a back seat and, now there is more of a focus on Linda Battilani‘s personal struggles.
Closing out the record is Immortals and Perfectly Broken. This is where that light at the end of the tunnel comes in, and it is dazzling. An anthem for those marginalised or oppressed by society, filled with a message of empowering resilience. Inspiration stemming from Battilani‘s journey as a member of the queer community there is so much acceptance and love flowing through this penultimate track.
And finally, the record comes to a close with bubbly pop-rock tunes of Perfectly Broken. Total opposite end of the emotional spectrum sonically to where the EP begins but lyrically still a little emo. Emo but with a recognition of the sadness rather than being consumed by it. It is so full of light and love. Acknowledging life would be nothing without some ups and downs. At the start of the EP, there was a focus from HALFLIVES on escaping reality and hiding away, but by the end, it’s all about walking with your demons.
How Much A Heart Can Take Before It Breaks is single-handedly produced and written by Battilani and simply radiates strength and perseverance. Exploring her experience and views of society she uses her platform to be unabashedly opinionated to the tune of catchy hooks. Expressing how things have impacted not only herself, but how she sees others falling victim to its pitfalls the world over.
Rating: 8/10
How Much A Heart Can Take Before It Breaks is out now via Still Standing.
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The post EP REVIEW: How Much A Heart Can Take Before It Breaks – Halflives appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
