Resolutely Superficial Yet Obsessed With The Unseen

Default Genders “Black Pill Skyline”

James Brooks’ lyrics focus on vivid portraits of very contemporary characters, with details so extremely specific that it can make you cringe with recognition even when it’s not even a particularly embarrassing thing. For example, in this song he references the Edith Zimmerman (“that writer from the Hairpin”) profile of Chris Evans and writing trip reports on Erowid, and ends on a semi-ironic “that’s the tea.” Brooks’ tone can get a bit glib, but his empathy is much stronger than his sense of detached irony. Even when he’s singing from the perspective of a bitter, judgmental asshole, he’s not asking you to go “ugh, what an asshole.” He’s more interested in just showing you someone else’s thought processes, and little bits of life that add up to not much other than a dissatisfied person. “Black Pill Skyline,” like all the songs on Main Pop Girl 2019, leans heavily on a very early ‘90s production style, and while that could also feel glib and ironic, it doesn’t quite land that way. Brooks is aware that it can seem that way, but just presents it all with as much sincerity as he can bring to it. It’s not a wink. It’s sustained eye contact.

Buy it from Bandcamp.