On March 12, Joshua Bassett released his debut self-titled EP. However, music is not new to Bassett, besides writing songs for the hit show he stars on, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, he released two singles beforehand that are not on the new album. Bassett previously released “Common Sense” and “Anyone Else,” which were not included on the album.
The album consists of six songs and is 19 minutes and 37 seconds long. Three of the songs featured were released before the album came out. Two of the ones previously released were available on all streaming platforms, including “Lie Lie Lie” and “Only a Matter of Time.” The third song, “Heaven is You” was released on YouTube only until the album’s release.
My theory when first listening is that this album goes chronologically. It seems to be reflecting on a past relationship and what happened or what could have been. It could be speculated that this album is about his rumored relationship with Olivia Rodrigo. But, besides the point, it tells a story.
The album starts with “Sorry” and ends with “Heaven is You.” These seem like stages of a relationship. “Sorry” is about the end of the relationship and what happened during. This is the grieving process. The album then goes more into the relationship aspect and the after-effects. It then ends in an upbeat love song called “Heaven is You.” This song seems to mean that he moved on and this new person is his “heaven” and that he is over his past relationship.
Now that there is a general understanding of the album, let’s move on to the rankings from my least favorite to favorite songs.
- Heaven is You
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“Heaven is You” is a beautiful song, but for me, it just does not fit the album. If he is using it as a transition to say “I have moved on and I am happy,” it makes sense. But to me, the album would have been better without it. It just does not fit the vibe of the album. I think it should have been a single because it is too lovey-dovey with the rest of the album. Also, this song was written with the help of Sabrina Carpenter, who is his supposed new love interest. Is this song about her? Did he put this song on the album because he liked it? We do not know, all I know is that a different song would have fit better.
- Only a Matter of Time
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I watched the premiere video of this song when it came out, but I will be honest, I am not the biggest fan. This song’s intro reminds me of a circus or a carnival. It gives me merry-go-round vibes and not in a good way. Now the acoustic version, I love it! But this produced version does not sound the best to me. He seems to strain his voice going from one octave to another for the chorus of the song. In the acoustic version, he does not do this as much. This song has good lyrics and good music, it is just not executed well to me.
- Sorry
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I truly do not have a lot to say about this song, hence why it is in the middle of the list. It is the first song on the album, but it truly does not catch my attention as the next three songs do. It has good lyrics and it suits his voice. Also, there is a nice remix in the middle of the song. It is good, it is just not amazing or anything to go “wow” about.
- Lie Lie Lie
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This song was released early and has been stuck in my head since the day it came out. It is very catchy but the problem with that is that it is very repetitive. It is a good upbeat revenge song and something to jam out to when you are mad or angry. I do prefer the acoustic version, but this produced version is not bad either. Some think that this is his response to “Driver’s License,” but I beg to differ.
- Do It All Again
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This song seems like a regret song to me. He would do it all again if he could. He mentions the lyrics “it’s been six weeks since we said goodbye.” This can be assumed that this was written after season 1 of HSMTMTS. I think that this song takes place during the same time or whereabouts of Driver’s License. There are some similarities between the two. “We weren’t perfect, but you were worth it” is similar to “I know we weren’t perfect, but I never felt this way for no one” that Rodrigo sang in “Driver’s License.” No matter the parallels, this is a good song with great lyrics and it suits his voice perfectly. It is a good song about reflecting on a past relationship.
- Telling Myself
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This song is very catchy and upbeat just like “Lie Lie Lie” but is less repetitive. It is a song about an ex and reflecting on the relationship. He reflects on a lot of things in this song. Why did we last so long? Was it even good? Was it even love? He puts blame on both people in the relationship in this song. This song is right before “Heaven is Yo on the album, so I think this is his song of accepting that the past relationship was not good and he should move on from it. He keeps having to remind himself that he is better off now. This song shows off his talent, not just vocally but lyrically as well. I wish this song came out years ago when I was going through a breakup because it is that relatable.
No matter who this album is or is not about, we need to focus on the artist here. Bassett has so much talent and potential to grow as an artist. This album gives me Shawn Mendes “Handwritten” vibes and true Mendes fans know that that is his best album hands down. Are some of Bassett’s songs not my favorite? Yeah. But no artist has a discography that is unskippable. So with that being said, go stream Joshua Bassett, even if he is my bitch ex Gina, he is still very talented.