Tracklist

• Take Your Time
• Evie
• Karma
• Wurl
• Wellness
• Apollo
• Always
• Purist
• Stream
• Zero

Introduction

Wellness is one of the first albums I've ever listened to properly, back in 7th grade. Its not an album I fell in love immediately with, for sure. Rather. it took many relistens for me to get used to it ^[1]. I fell deeper in love every time I came back to Wellness over the years. I loved the smooth and flowy tone of the album combined with catchy and rhythmic songs, tied together using dramatic melodies. I loved the melancholic lyrics that contemplate the blur of love just before it reaches its end. I loved the days I would sing this album out loud and the days I would sing it to myself. I loved the Last Dinosaurs concert where I heard Take Your Time played as the opening track in all its majesty. Its a comforting yet heartaching album for me. Whenever I play it now, I revisit all the memories I've had with the album in the past. And it helps me move on.

So without further ado, lets start with the first track.

Take Your Time

Fantastic start to the album. At the beginning of the track, (0:31) the soft synths and shaking of sand and beads that almost sounds like running water characterize the flowy nature of the the album very well. Then the singing begins, with Sean singing about regrets and hopes concerning some relationship:

Oh, how would it seem

If this was all but a dream?

Then, like a rushing river, the chorus begins (1:05). Sean's singing combined with with the melodic guitar both swirling around each other is super powerful and catchy. The track continues, reaching a breaking point at 2:26. The upbeat drums with the dreamy vocals and elevated guitar is amazing. Then the song ends again with that swirling guitar and vocals in a slight variation of the chorus.

Overall a great way to begin the album. Its also super fun to sing.

Evie

Evie is a great example of catchy, dancey, beats that Last Dinosaurs is skilled at combined with wistful lyrics. The main characters here are definitely the snappy synths and Sean's vocals. Overall, its a wonderful song about urging to hold onto a long-distance relationship despite the difficulties.

Karma

Right at the beginning of the track you hear these drums that immediately bring attention to the music, leading into dancey guitar. Sean starts singing, then at 0:39 the background surges with fuller force. At 0:58 the chorus is brought in once again by the same drums that began the song. And I think the lyrics during the chorus really represent the song:

I don't want to say goodbye

'Cause I need you in my life

Painting pictures in my head

All the pretty things you said

In the middle of the chorus you hear that melodic guitar again. The sequence repeats until we get to 2:15, where we get a particularly longful and wistful section of the song, into some self-pitying lyrics.

All I ask is for you to be there

By my side

I try to change, but I

Don't know how

It's just the way it goes for us right now

The song ends with the chorus again and the same guitar now playing the main melody.

Wurl

I think that the introduction really solidifies the character of this song for me. Its all about acceptance and letting go, with regretful lyrics like

The look in your eyes is slowly fading away

It doesn't matter now 'cause I think I'm far too late

in the chorus (0:57), all while the guitar somehow plays with the same sense of mourning. I also love the lyrics during the climax of the song (2:47),

It all changes all the time

Everything is gonna be just fine

during which the synths are singing their hearts out in a cathartic embracing of what is to come.

But this song also has a lot of other meaning for me, especially after I saw the excellent music video for this song

For me, this song also invokes feelings of patterns/repetitions/cycles, perspectives changing, and cause/effect. Things will happen as they happen.

Sometimes when I listen to this song, I alternate which eye I open to get the perspective shifting that happens in the music video. And sometimes when I do that in my day-to-day life I think of this song.

At the very end of this track, there is a transition to the next song, Wellness. I'm a huge sucker for songs that transition so I especially love this.

Wellness

This is definitely the song that deserves to be the title track of the album. It really feels like I am dreaming when I listen to this song. Like I am drifting down a river of blue, carried by the current, and in a similar way drifting through life. I am moving without effort or ambition, in a haze. That is, until we get to the lyrics,

Every single day just feels the same,

I know, I know, I know, that its time to change.

Things can't stay this way forever. I need to do something different.

Last Dinosaurs, on top of being great at dance music, is fantastic at these enchanting hypnotizing songs, such as Wellness, or Not From Here from their album KYORYU.

Apollo

This idea that "I need to become something new" continues into the next song of the album, Apollo. This song is the most upbeat in the album. Sean said that “It was inspired by this crazy remix we kept hearing in the clubs in Tokyo that had a really cool continuous bouncy melody.” You definitely hear that throughout the song. And the lively energy is highlighted in the music video as well,

Yet amidst the energetic music, the lyrics tell a different story. At 0:46,

All things in time

Will fade away but I, by design

Will never stray from knowing this life

It's not the one for me.

And during the chorus (1:00),

Oh, I'm ready to be somebody else

I'll forget how to feel the things I felt

I especially like these lyrics. The first half is hopeful and optimistic. I'm ready to move onto better things. But the second half makes you consider the cost — losing this part of your life. I used to think of forgetting as something evil. I thought that remembering was the best way to honor what you've experienced, and forgetting was the ultimate loss. But much later in my life I realized that people have no choice but to forget. We can't hold onto everything no matter how hard we try. Sometimes the only way to move on is the completely get rid of what happened before. As if it never occurred in the first place. So in order to prepare for the new, I must forget how to feel the things I felt. Sometimes whenever I go through a challenging part of my life, I like to repeat those lyrics to myself.

I also really love the demo for this song.

There are lyrics from Wurl here! Super cool.

Always

This is a particularly passionate song in the album, which I think is pushed by the song being in d-sharp major. One great example of the music at this scale is the singing guitars at the beginning of the song. You hear them descending down the scale, like the soundtrack of a relationship as it ends for good.

This track is also driven by these synth guitars in the background and echoey vocals. You hear it strengthen before the chorus (0:40) but then surge once the chorus actually begins (0:58). During this period, you hear lyrics like:

Will you every know the truth hidden from yourself?

Keep your heart away for your mental health

Which is such a cool line to me. I definitely relate with withholding love for the sake of personal happiness. But all the while your heart aches like you've cut it out with your own hands.

The climax of this song (2:05) may be one of my favorite parts of the album. It feels like wave after wave crashing into you. The end is not a quiet goodbye but a overwhelming, almost transformative moment. The lyrics reflect this:

She pulled me in and said

"Oh darling you're right!

You need to fix yourself

I thought I told you last time

I'm going back again,

You can't change my mind!

You never made no sense!"

At the end of the song, you hear the same melody as in the beginning — the descending guitar, now somehow different after things have actually ended.

Purist

Purist is a refreshing energizer after the cathartic experience that is Always. The lyrics at the beginning start out almost sassy,

No, I can't believe what you said

Never gonna drop it

Try to tell me what you see

It's all that it's meant to be

But lead into a guitar driven chorus (0:37) with lyrics once again based upon the period before the end of a relationship, but this time more determined.

One last chance to make this right but I know,

That we're not really feeling the same.

One last chance to teach you how to let go,

'Cause I'm not gonna ask you to stay

I have one last chance to reach out to you, to maybe make things right. But I think that no matter what I do things are going to end. We just don't work together.

I'll always be different, yeah

Stream

This is another one of the more unique songs on the album. Half I think is because of the unique tone and half because of the lyrics.

This song sounds to me like sleeping exhausted. Like you are settling into bed like that's where you're supposed to be. You also hear these chimes scattered throughout the song that sound like silver stars in the night sky, or gleaming fireflies. That, combined with the echoey guitars in the background and resonant vocals gives this song an especially cozy feeling, especially during the chorus.

At the beginning of the song however, once the vocals start (0:16), Sloane sing up and down the scale in a way that I think doesn't match the tone of the other parts of the track. This gives way to an uneasy feeling that matches the lyrics:

I only ever wanna be a part of you

You know I only wanted you.

You said you really need to think about it.

If only this was half true.

Our main character is instantly rejected by this girl. However,

The situation, still it changes in time.

But will you ever be mine?

They get a little closer, with the girl eventually being more friendly. Yet our main character wonders if this will ever bloom into love. So, confused, he tries to squash those feelings.

I thought you said you can't stand to see me?

I never think about you anyway.

Why don't you want to ever believe me?

I never cared about you.

The tone shifts once the chorus begins. The tone is no longer uneasy, but confessionary. The lyrics show this as well,

I know everything will end. I don't care

'Cause I can't pretend I'm not in love with you.

I hear her breathing on the phone, listening to me.

I wanna be alone, just with me and you.

This part of the song sounds so warm and so cold at the same time. They're playing this game where they both dance around love and friendship, and eventually, they have a falling out.

Give me the chance to tell you how it really feels.

The implications are real.

She says "I know it's you who's crossing every line

And that's a truth you can't conceal."

She said, "I'm always in the corner of your mind

Your consolation is fine."

This is another way a relationship can end I suppose.

Zero

Zero is the final song of the album. This track maintains the driven yet melancholic vibe of the album, while still showing some uniqueness. Verse 1 (0:26) sounds pretty reminiscent of tracks like Karma and Stream. Yet the song begins to grow at the chorus (1:02) . Here you hear this high pitched melody in the background streaking across the chorus, which I always though sounded like an animal, reminiscent of some songs from their previous album In a Million Years. This is accompanied by this grounded guitar and confident vocals.

After Verse 2 (2:05), there's this incredible prechorus, with singing that sound like a cry for help with an electronic arpeggio in the background. The lyrics reflect this,

I don't wanna know

(If I'm losing control)

I need to know

(How to find my soul)

To me, this song is about ending a relationship because of metal health issues. You have lyrics like the one above, but also,

I've tried to hide a certain side of me

Closed eyes, I'm tired of this reality

I'm drifting in space

And when I'm falling back to Earth

I'll find out if it hurts

And in the chorus

Too many thoughts inside my head.

I guess I'm going crazy instead.

I meant all of the things I said,

I hope one day you will understand.

Conclusion.

Wellness is an album about many things, but it all centers around the feelings brought about by a breakup. Take Your Time says that I will wait for you to come back to me. Evie says I will hold on no matter the distance. Karma says that I need you with me. Wurl says that the end is inevitable, and I will move on. Wellness and Apollo say that I need to change. Things can't remain how they are. Always says that we are bad for each other. Purist says that we are incompatible with each other. Stream mourns a relationship that never began. And Zero says that I'm too messed up for this relationship to continue.

Despite all the heartache this album wants to convey, I have so many positive memories with this album. It's one of the album's I've grown up with, and will always influence not just my music taste, but my choices in life to come. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

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1. again, this was 7th grade. Its not a particularly extreme album or anything I was just used to a different kind of music. ↩︎