Hopeless Romantics - Thinking About College

​Hopeless Romantics

​Thinking About College 
self-released; 2016

3.2 out of 5

By Ted Rogen
​

Thinking About College by Hopeless Romantics feels like the stream of conscious of a typical person in their early twenties living in a first world country. Hence that will be the audience who is most likely to relate to this music. I can’t see anyone above the age of twenty-five relating to most of the themes and topics. 

The singer’s voice is reminiscent of Conor Oberst and the music revolves around a couple of acoustic guitars. It’s not the most innovative music that came out this year but does contain some decent songwriting.

The EP starts off with “Final Goodbye.” It revolves around a young person who confides in a best friend about her hesitance to get married. The narrative is unambiguous and the vocals are filled with morose - a mix between a slacker and Conor Oberst. 

“Monday Morning” is full of lyrics that pretty much every teenager or person in their early twenties experiences. Lyrics like, “I totally forgot I had band practice with my best friends” and “My mom gave me money for the books I can't afford I work a dead end job, four hours a week and I can't take this shit anymore” are an inner monologue for most young guys before they become men years later.

“Brain Fight” is basically about a young person who has the luxury of being able to attend college and complaining about how horrible everything is including their own thoughts. Lyrics like,  “I'm in a death-match with my textbook it's slowly shattering parts of my brain” don’t make you feel sympathy or empathy but instead make you think you want to shake this person and tell them how good they have it that they can have a hot shower or even a home at all. The closer “Third Semester” is basically more of the same about college, depression and stuff that young people do.

Being in your late teens and early twenties is a confusing time for most people. You don’t know how to handle your emotions especially sadness, you question the world around you and most are basically confused about what they want to do with their lives. If nothing else Thinking About College is a reflection of those sentiments by people in that demographic for people in that demographic.

I’m the same age as Conor Oberst and when I was nineteen I remember relating to his music because he was singing about his own experiences of life, which were similar to mine. Thinking About College can serve that purpose to the nineteen year olds of 2016.

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