Do you remember your high school English lessons on the hero’s journey? Joseph Campbell popularized the template that describes the stages of a main character’s pre-, during and post-adventure arc.
Romantic comedy movies have a similarly predictable structure: the main characters have a meet-cute, they fall in love, they’re happy together but then something happens and they break up. Then, there’s a moody montage of grief, preferably with rain dripping down a windowpane. After a while, they realize they still have feelings for each other and it usually ends happily ever after.
I bring this up as background for my reaction to Caleb Hearn’s sophomore album, “LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND,” which came out on Feb. 20. I had never heard of Hearn before Spotify put his song “PLAY IT SAFE” on my “Chill Mix” playlist, but the song piqued my interest in “LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND.”
As I listened to the album, a movie kept playing in my head. I’d listen to a song and mentally assign it a point in a rom-com plot. I don’t mean to trivialize Hearn’s work; this is rather a reflection of the songs’ strong storytelling and imagery.
The album as a whole doesn’t follow the arc you’d find in a movie, and there are four songs I’m not discussing in depth, but here are the songs I think embody rom-com plots.
The meet-cute: “GREEN EYED HEART ATTACK”
I had a feeling I’d like this song as soon as I heard the harmonica in the intro; it feels like like a cowboy playing in a bar in an old frontier town. This is the meet-cute song, the moment in the rom-com where you can tell the plot has just turned a corner — one of the lyrics, after all, is “There’s no going back, and I’m alright with that.”
Falling in love: “SILVER LINING”
This song starts off quiet and sweet, then turns more solemn in the pre-chorus. There’s a complete tone shift around minute one, going from being guitar-forward to being driven by an easy drumbeat.
The lyrics and music capture the feeling of being happily in love even while external circumstances aren’t going so well. May we all find that kind of silver-lining love.
On another note, this song reminded me of the composition technique “word painting,” just turned inside out. Word painting is when the music follows the lyrics, like when the pitch falls while the Electric Light Orchestra sings “Don’t bring me down.”
"SILVER LINING”’s most “aww”-inducing lyrics are set to bittersweet music, while the upbeat rhythm of the chorus belies lyrics about crashing out. For example, the line “Too old for my 20s, I’m not alright” would be a downer if not for the cheery rhythm; still, the overall feel is optimistic.
The high point: “PLAY IT SAFE”
Of all the songs on the album, “PLAY IT SAFE” is my number one pick for inclusion on an actual movie soundtrack, especially because of the rollicking chorus and catchy bridge. The song is a diagram of how loving someone changes you for the better, and it's mirrored later in the album in “PAPA’S SONG,” which shows how being loved can change you profoundly.
Friction in the relationship: “TIP OF YOUR TONGUE”
In a rom-com, just as everything seems to be going perfectly, something goes south and you can tell a breakup is likely coming. “TIP OF YOUR TONGUE” is the least folk-like song on the album, and it feels like a lead-up to “ALMOST MEANT TO BE.” It’s about the strained parts of a relationship, when you just want to know what the other person is thinking, even if it means the end.
The breakup: “LEFT OF US,” “IS THERE A WORLD?” and “ALMOST MEANT TO BE”
Almost a quarter of the album is composed of heartbreak songs, characterized by their piano-driven or sad-guitar instrumentals. One such song is “IS THERE A WORLD?” which would fit well in the part of a rom-com where the characters are up late at night, asking themselves “what if?” and imagining what might have been.
“ALMOST MEANT TO BE” is, in my opinion, the most heartbreaking song on the album. Lines like “We got so close, but close doesn’t cut it” hit hard in a song that grieves a relationship people tried to save but couldn’t. This song and “LEFT OF US” correspond to the lowest points of the rom-com. “LEFT OF US” feels like a dreary night spent regretting a loss. It’s a nostalgic type of pain, the kind of heartache you want to hang onto when you’re in your feels.
Happily ever after: “THE LOWS” and “LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND”
“THE LOWS” is probably my favorite song on the album because of the long-term, steady love it describes. A strong relationship is one that goes through highs and lows and comes out intact, and that’s what this song is about.
This imaginary rom-com wraps up with title track “LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND,” which reminds me of a folk-country answer to Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” due to its religious-adjacent lyrics and borderline worshipful feel. It’s got a fun beat and some sweet lines like “Stay ‘til we’re flowers in the ground,” which is a great recasting of “til death do us part.”
The storytelling in Hearn’s new album is commendable. The fact that the songs quickly made me think about movie soundtracks is a testament to the scene-setting they accomplish and the feelings they trigger. Capturing and prompting emotions, in my mind, is a hallmark of good music.
