Brighter Days Ahead: a trip down memory lane
Everyone has their own share of bad memories, some that made them scared or angry, some that made them sad, and some that started off good but hurt too much to look back on. If “Brighter Days Inc” existed–the fictional company made by Ariana Grande in her new short film designed to delete one’s memories “Inside-Out style” with the throwing away of memory orbs–it would be tempting for some people to get those bad memories removed. If listening to the deluxe version of Grande’s album eternal sunshine, titled eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead was one of my memory orbs, I would never throw it away.
The extended tracks are reminiscent of Grande’s past discography; shimmery instrumental openings followed by tranquil and supported vocals perfectly sat in Ariana’s chest vocal range, closed off with a slightly altered version of the chorus to show some character change.
The tracks are all relatively short in length, with the shortest being “intro (end of the world) [extended]” at 2:41 and the longest being “Hampstead” at 3:36. The extended piece only lasts a total of 19 minutes and 55 seconds, forcing Grande to squeeze a large amount of storyline into such a short timeframe.
The lyrics of this album tell a story that only Grande can fill in such a short time period. She refaces memories of a past lover, who fans speculate to be ex-husband Dalton Gomez, and reflects on those moments in these seemingly lyricism-based pop songs. It’s already brave to re-encounter difficult experiences, but then to take those devastating memories and make them into three-minute pop songs for an insanely large fanbase to hear and criticize takes even more courage.
She touches on these recollections with a mix of delicate somberness and back-handed comedy. She includes sarcastic comments of hate in her lyrics like, “Hope you win for best actor / ‘Cause I had you completely wrong” (“twilight zone”) and “Woke up with a ghost by my side” (“past life”). But she then re-expresses her love in lyrics like, “But it’s warmer in your arms” (“warm”) and, “I’m tryna say, I want you to stay” (“dandelion”).
There are such varying themes in lyricism, with moments she’s in love and moments she absolutely hates this character. When she has happy feelings for him, she makes the production and beats more bright, like the snappy percussion in “dandelion” and the fast paced lyrics in the second verse of “past life.” When she hates him, there are heavily depressed tones like the desperately intense piano chords in “Hampstead” and the elegant synths in “intro (end of the world) [extended].”
Sometimes, it feels like memories are unstoppable, and that in the moment, they’re going to ruin your life. In all reality, your memories will forever shape who you are. “You think you’ve read the book I’m still writing,” Grande sings about her past lover in the final track, “Hampstead,” “I can’t imagine wanting so badly to be right.” Every memory belongs in your fictional scrapbook, a place for everything that shows what makes you who you are today, and that’s what eternal sunshine: brighter days ahead tried to show us. The album paints that picture perfectly.
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