Alternative pop singer Halsey returned to the music scene last week with the release of her sophomore album "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom." This album was highly anticipated after the success of her debut "Badlands." Halsey has described her new album as a concept album centered around the idea of "Romeo and Juliet" but with two characters named Solis and Luna (Latin for sun and moon) and their stories tie together throughout the album with day and night imagery. While I like the idea, I don't think Halsey carried this "concept" completely throughout the album. She claims it relates to "Romeo and Juliet" but Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers, not supposed to be together. Most of the songs on "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" are relationship songs but they're mostly break up songs and getting out of a toxic relationship, something Romeo and Juliet didn't experience (if my knowledge of 9th grade English class is accurate). Besides the concept falling a little flat, this is a solid pop album and Halsey is definitely here to stay and leave a mark on the music industry.

The first song on HFK is "The Prologue," which acts as an introduction to the album. It starts with Halsey reading the prologue of "Romeo and Juliet." It then moves on to Halsey singing "I am a child of a money hungry, prideful country, grass is green and it's always sunny. Hands so bloody, tastes like honey. I'm finding it hard to leave." This isn't much of a song so there's not much to say about it musically but it serves as a good introduction to the album and setting the "Romeo and Juliet" concept.

Next is "100 Letters," the first real song on the album. Lyrically it's a pretty typical breakup song. Halsey's voice is accompanied by a simple drum beat and some synths. I particularly like the tone of her voice when she repeats, "he said, 'please don't go away.'" Her voice in the chorus is also pretty strong without being too dramatic. This song is a nice way to ease into the album as it doesn't stray too far from Halsey's sound on her previous album.

Track 3 is "Eyes Closed," which was released as a single before the album came out. This song is about being with someone when you feel like you should be with someone else, "if I keep my eyes closed he looks just like you." It starts with a light guitar and Halsey's voice in the verse is very elongated and echoey. The chorus speeds up a bit but has that same echoey vibe in the background.

Next is "Heaven In Hiding." This is the first song so far on the record that has a lot more content lyrically. The verses are very descriptive and present a scene very well. The song is pretty sexual and seems to be about Halsey taking control in the relationship, something not expected from her partner. The chorus is one of the strongest on the record. It builds and builds and Halsey's raspy voice really adds to the song.

Track 5 is "Alone" which is a fun piano-driven song that reminds me of the 1970s. The chorus is very powerful and is one of my favorite vocal performances on the album. The song is about how it seems lots of people are trying to get with Halsey but somehow she still feels alone and she's warning a future partner she hasn't met yet that they're better off not meeting her.

"Now Or Never" is next which was released as the first single when the album was initially announced. I listened to this a few months back and didn't like it that much but it's been growing on me. I've never been a huge fan of Halsey's singles (like "Ghost", "New Americana", etc). Personally, I think her deep cuts are much stronger ("Gasoline", "Control", etc). Even though I didn't like it much at first, the chorus is undeniably catchy with "I want you to love me now, now, now, now or never."

Next is "Sorry" which is the most emotional song on HFK. It's a gut-wrenching ballad apologizing to anyone who has or will fall in love with her. "Sorry to my unknown lover, sorry that I can't believe that anybody ever really starts to fall in love with me" is such a strong lyric. Although the song is sad from Halsey's perspective, it's a little hopeful for the "unknown lover" as she belts "someone will love you but someone isn't me." The song is completely stripped back with just Halsey singing and a piano, a perfect time to slow down in the middle of the album.

Next is "Good Mourning" which is a short interlude for the middle of the album. It starts with a child speaking about the idea of the word hopeless. It brings back the story of Solis and Luna; "don't trust the moon, she's always changing," "sun is coming up, oh why". Like "The Prologue" there isn't much to this "song" but it fits a purpose to fill the story.

Next is another short song called "Lie" featuring Quavo. Halsey is sort of rapping in the verse and then Quavo raps later on. Maybe it's because I'm not drawn to a lot of hip hop/rap but this isn't one of my favorites. The lyrics are pretty sexual but don't really bring much to the story/album to me. This feels like a filler song.

Track 10 is another interlude thing called "Walls Could Talk" which is one of my favorites on the album despite it being so short. It starts very suddenly and has these fast strings going. In the chorus the original melody with the strings kicks in with synths and it's very dramatic. It's extremely catchy and discusses what the walls would say after seeing this toxic relationship Halsey is in. It seems very Britney Spears-esque but I love it so much.

Next is "Bad At Love" which I'm sure a lot of people can relate to. Love is hard. In the first verse she discusses various boys she's dated and in the second verse she talks about girls, which is one of the first instances of Halsey being more open about her bisexuality in her music. This is one of my favorites. The lyrics are painfully honest and she gets very specific with various relationships. It's also refreshing to hear people write lyrics about their own faults rather than a breakup song blaming the other person entirely for a relationship going bad.

Next is "Don't Play," one of the more experimental songs. The song is very hip hop inspired and the chorus weirdly reminds me of Missy Elliot. The song immediately makes you feel really badass as Halsey keeps saying "mother f'er don't play with me" (trying to keep my articles clean but I had to use that lyric). Basically don't mess with Halsey.

Next is "Strangers," another song released as a single early. It features Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony. This song is completely about a relationship with another girl, providing the mainstream music world with some bisexual representation!!! Halsey's producers wanted Katy Perry to be featured on this song but Halsey would only sing with someone who is actually bi, as it made the song more honest. It's a really catchy song with a fun chorus. Halsey and Lauren's voices sound really good together and I'm glad Halsey chose her for this song.

Track 14 is "Angel On Fire." This song starts out very dark and eerie. It's one of the few songs not about a relationship. It seems to be about how Halsey is trying to scream for everyone's attention but no one can see her crying for help. It discusses anxiety which is why I think I originally fell in love with her music with songs like "Gasoline" and "Control," so this definitely has a "Badlands" vibe which I'm not complaining about.

Next is "Devil In Me," another personal song about Halsey's internal demons. The main line, "I don't wanna wake it up, the devil in me" is pretty self explanatory. It's nice to have a break from all the relationship songs because relationship songs can get pretty old to me as I don't relate. I especially love the line "I scream too loud when I speak my mind." Halsey's voice sounds really good in the chorus and I think it's one of the more powerful choruses.

Finally, we reach the closing track "Hopeless" featuring Cashmere Cat. We're back to relationship subject matter to finish out the album. It's a pretty normal song in the verse and then there's lots of electronic mixing around Halsey's voice that drags on for awhile. It's not my favorite sound to listen to for more than 10 seconds. This song isn't a dramatic closing but it fits pretty well as an end to the album.

Overall, Halsey's music is growing and "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" is a decent followup to 2015's "Badlands." Some songs fall flat for me but for the most part, this is a very solid pop album and I see Halsey gaining lots of success in the next year. HFK gets a 7/10 from me.