Will Wood, born and raised in Glen Rock, New Jersey is a singer-songwriter who has written and produced four individual albums. “Self-Ish,” one of these four albums, was published in 2016 and contains eight songs. Based on the high number of plays on each song, the most popular song on the album is “Mr Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity.”
“Mr Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity” starts off with an almost clockwork-like melody. Immediately after the intro, it progresses into an upbeat, fast song. This song focuses entirely around supernatural properties and mental illness. Some of the lyrics, such as “Levitating off the ground/is another man wearing your face” and “So, my God, what’s wrong with me?” bleed into the deeper meanings of the song. The song is quick, and the tone of his voice almost comes off as panicked and desperate. Despite its odd lyrics and interesting nature, it is the most played song on the album.
Coming in second most played songs is “The Song with Five Names.” The melody of this song relies on tons of drumming and a saxophone. It is medium paced and quite catchy. Its lyrics go deep into the concept of searching for answers that should remain a secret. “You dig dirt up when you dig deep down” supports that the more people search for something, the likelier they are to find it. However, the outcome may be distressing. This song is about finding the ultimate truth in every situation.
The third most listened to song in the album “Self-Ish” is “Dr Sunshine is Dead.” This song has an upbeat rhythm, consisting of a piano, drums, and a trumpet as its main foundation. The pace is fast and chaotic.
Long before Will Wood took on his name, he used to make music under the identity of “Dr Sunshine.” Although not many songs can be recovered now, they are available on CD’s. “Dr Sunshine is Dead” is a song to represent and give a final end to Will Wood’s past identity. The song can also be interpreted as recovering from past actions and escapes. The song is rapid, changing in its pace, but is still very good.
This album is widely recognized on platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram simply because several songs blew up from this album. These songs are commonly used in edits and singing videos. The songs on “Self-Ish” are particularly popular because of their chaotic style, theatrical energy and deeper insights on interesting topics such as personal identity and mental health. This album has an indie-rock type of music style. The songs are fast and loud, but widely enjoyed among the fans. I would give this album a 9/10 rating, this album is probably my favorite of his.